Episode 397: Die-Off During Gut Healing: What’s Normal, What’s Not, and What to Do Next
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Starting a gut healing protocol sounds straightforward until symptoms flare, digestion slows, or your skin freaks out. Do you protocol harder? Do you completely stop? Or is there a middle ground?
In this episode, Erin and TFN Practitioner Nicole Antes are breaking down what die-off (aka a Herxheimer reaction) actually is, why it can feel downright gnarly, and how to tell the difference between a normal detox response and a sign your body needs more support.
You’ll learn about the most common die-off symptoms and why mineral status matters much more than you realize.
In this episode:
Why hydration can make detox symptoms worse if your mineral status isn’t addressed first
The difference between normal die-off and a sign your body is asking you to slow way down
How constipation amplifies skin flares, fatigue, and brain fog during gut protocols
The overlooked role of bile flow and liver support in clearing toxins
When binders are a powerful tool, AND when they’re the wrong move that adds more stress to your system
Resources mentioned:
Episode 393: 5 Things You Need to Know Before Starting a Gut Healing Protocol
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Minerals, hydration, both are super important when we're thinking about foundational support for detoxification. But hydration alone's not enough. Water is important for creating digestive juices, bile flow, bowel movements, all of the things. But without minerals, our cells aren't hydrating properly. Our nervous system can be dysregulated, our detox pathways can be affected, we can have slowed motility. Certain minerals like sodium, potassium, magnesium, these all play a role in all of those things. And so when somebody low or dysregulated minerals, they can be more constipated, they can have less stress resiliency. They may not be clearing things out as well.
Welcome to The Funk’tional Nutrition Podcast, spelled with a K. Because we do things a little differently around here. I'm your host, Erin Holt, and I've got 15 years of clinical experience as a functional nutritionist and mindset coach creating a new model that I call Intuitive Functional Medicine™, where we combine root cause medicine with the innate intelligence of your body. This is where science meets self trust. Your body already knows how to heal, and this show is going to show you how. If you're looking for new ways of thinking about your health, be sure to follow and share with a friend, because you never know whose life you might change.
Erin Holt:
Hi, friends. So I recently did an episode on the five things that you need to know and consider before starting a gut healing protocol. That was episode 393, released on January 13th. And in that episode, I really outlined how we teach clinicians to build a successful protocol in FNA. By now, you know that I am not into template medicine. If that then this. We really have to think through the person, we have to think through the individual, we have to think through the how they're presenting to us. There's a lot of different things that factor into it. So part of creating a solid protocol that's going to help, somebody is assessing for a lot of different factors. So we really outlined that in that last episode. And by the way, before I forget to announce it, applications for FNA spring cohort are open.
We're actually going to be doing something we've never done before. We're going to have an open house in March. So there's going to be 12 days in March where we open up our classroom to you all. And so if you have an application in, if you're a practitioner that's interested in FNA, you'll kind of get to see how we practice and how we teach and what FNA is all about.
So make sure, you get your application in sooner than later, but today, what we're going to do is kind of build on that last episode or that gut healing protocol episode and talk about what's actually showing up in practice and how we're managing it. So it will be a great show for practitioners, too, to really think through. Okay, what happens if the protocol doesn't work? What happens if you've assessed the labs? You're like, I know the problem, I know how to solve it. I'm going to put them on a protocol, and then they react, and they react pretty negatively. Do you protocol harder? Do you completely stop, or is there some middle ground? And so I really love to bring our own practitioners onto the show so we can discuss what we're seeing actually play out clinically, not just talking theoretically, and how we're actually approaching it in practice. So today I have Nicole to chat with us. Hi, Nicole.
Nicole:
Hey. Happy to be here.
Erin:
Happy New Year and welcome back to the show. Nicole's been on the podcast a few times. You guys know her, you loved her, so we brought her back in. And, Nicole, why don't you tell listeners what we're gonna chat about today?
Nicole:
Yeah, so today we're gonna talk a little bit more, just kind of expanding on what can happen during GUT protocols. Setting expectations, how to support your body through it. I really wanted to talk about this because it's something that comes up pretty frequently in practice with my clients. And I think it's really important when you're working with somebody to set expectations of what a gut protocol can look like and how to add in support, how to know when to add in support, and what type of support to add in when it's needed. Die off reactions are something that can happen as part of a GUT protocol, and it doesn't necessarily mean that something is wrong. It can be a really normal part of the process. But it does mean that we need to support your body throughout the gut protocol so we can talk a little bit more about what die off actually is and how we can support the body through it.
Erin:
Yeah, and I'm looking right now. I wanted to pull this up, you know, right at the turn of the new year, we posted a team post so everyone could see a line of sight into not just our clinical team, but our, like, behind the scenes team. And we got this amazing comment from one of your clients,
“Nicole. She said, I've been working with Nicole and she has helped support my body in so many ways. She's definitely helped me feel seen, also reassured when one protocol may not work that we have other avenues to try. I used to be filled with anxiety of where the next threat to my skin would come from. Products, food, et cetera. Now I feel safe as I continue moving forward in my healing journey. Peace over perfection. Healing is not linear. Thank you, Nicole, for this amazing work.”
So I think that that is really speaking into how you do such a great job at telling people, like, hey, here's what we're going to do. Like, here's what's going on. Here's the plan. Sometimes the plan goes a little left. But don't worry, that doesn't mean that, you know, things are failing or your body's failing you.
Like, we've got resources. We're going to workshop this and we' got you. So tell me a little bit about what die off actually is.
Nicole:
Yes. Yeah. And I appreciate you sharing that and I appreciate my client sharing that, because I really like. Part of our work with our clients is helping them to feel safe in their body. And going through a gut protocol, you may not feel safe because it can take you back to maybe what you felt like in the past when symptoms are out of control. So I think that that side of healing, that side of protocols, is just as important as what we're going to talk about with, like, other supports for your body when you go through things like this. But die off. It's also can be phrased as a Herxheimer reaction.
It's basically when we are treating the gut, there can be bacteria, yeast, parasites, things that are overgrown, that when they're being killed off with antimicrobials as part of a gut protocol, they can release toxins. And several areas of the body come into play here, like your liver, your gut, your lymphatic system, all of these are playing a part to help to kind of process and eliminate, break down these bacteria and toxins and get them out of the body.
Erin:
Yeah, because those biotoxins can be pretty gnarly. It's a part of the process. It's not anything that's happening that's wrong. It's just a part of the die off. You know, when we're killing off bacteria, yeast, fungus, whatever it might be, they're going to release these biotoxins. And if they're not efficiently cleared out of the body, they can recirculate and exacerbate symptoms. And so that is when panic can set in. Kind of like what Nicole alluded to is, like, that's when people stop feeling safe.
Like, this isn't working and get really, really panicky, understandably. So what are some symptoms that we would see with the die off reaction?
Nicole:
Yeah, they can definitely look different for everybody. But I would say the most common symptoms that will pop up are things like headaches, fatigue, brain fog, feeling run down, almost like flu like symptoms. It can also show up as changes in digestion. So bloating or constipation, diarrhea, pretty commonly too. We'll in a little bit, we'll talk a little bit more about like cases and what type of clients tend to be more at risk for die off. But I would say skin flare ups, skin breakouts. That's a really common byproduct of GUT protocols as well.
Erin:
That's exactly what happened when I put myself on a protocol for H. Pylori. It's what I was talking about in that last episode. And my skin like definitely got more flushed and red, but I got a pretty severe, almost like allergic reaction type rash on my eyelids two or three days into the protocol.
Nicole:
Yeah, definitely. Which can happen. And I think too, like, to your point of, you know what die off can look like, people that are working with us, they might not know what to expect. So it's important to frame that. But also it's really, really important, and I always tell this to people whenever I'm starting them on a GUT protocol is that mild symptoms are to be expected. Not everybody experiences die off. But if things do pop up, like you're having a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of headaches, that is normal. If symptoms are severe or they're worsening or they're persisting, that is a signal that your body is asking for support We need to slow down, we need to maybe tweak things to make sure that you are comfortable throughout the process as well.
Erin:
Totally. And so let's talk about where to start. We obviously, we love to start with the foundations. We don't like to skip steps. Low mineral status is something that we're seeing with increased frequency. I know that you've kind of sounded the alarm in terms of practice. You're just seeing it a lot more. And so because of this, you've really needed to start there.
Can we talk about that first? Kind of an interesting place to start when we're talking about a GUT healing protocol. But explain why mineral status is so important.
Nicole:
Yeah, definitely. And this is partially too, because I've, I am a big fan of HTMA, the hair tissue mineral analysis, and I've been running them a lot more frequently with clients But I've also seen through doing that people do a lot better on these GUT protocols because we've done the mineral support. So minerals, hydration, both are super important when we're thinking about foundational support for detoxification. But hydration alone's not enough. Water is important for creating digestive juices, bile flow, bowel movements, all of the things. But without minerals, our cells aren't hydrating properly. Our nervous system can be dysregulated, our detox pathways can be affected. We can have slowed motility.
Certain minerals like sodium, potassium, magnesium, these all play a role in all of those things. And so when somebody has low or dysregulated minerals, they can be more constipated, they can have less stress resiliency. They may not be clearing things out as well. So usually before I even get somebody started on a GUT protocol, at our first call, I usually do ask, like, are you doing any sort of mineral support already? Like daily electrolytes making sure that they are hydrating and replacing their minerals before we even get started on deeper work?
Erin Holt:
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Erin:
What are specific things that you use in practice with your clients for mineral support?
Nicole:
Yeah, definitely. I am a big fan of like premixed electrolytes. I think they're a super easy way to incorporate more minerals into your routine. When I'm running HTMAS and looking at people's mineral profiles, I'll recommend a certain blend of electrolytes based on what's going on. So like for example, if somebody has low sodium that can affect stomach acid, it can affect your adrenals detoxification. So I'm going to pick something that's a little bit more salt forward, like LMNT that has a thousand milligrams of sodium or Rayvi that has about 800 milligrams. Low potassium is also something that we see pretty commonly which is a biggie for constipation, can play a role in hypothyroidism. So I'm going to pick something that's a little bit more potassium forward, like dry water electrolytes or the potassium cocktail from jigsaw because these have a higher ratio of potassium than some of the other options.
And then a common picture is both low sodium and low potassium which is more consistent with like burnt out adrenals, the body just needing more support. So in that case we can kind of do a blend of the ones I recommended. Sometimes I'll recommend doing LMNT and then adding in some cream of tartar. I know that sounds random, but it's a good way to do a little bit of a potassium boost. I also am a really big fan of Rayvi. It's a little bit more of an adrenal cocktail, so it's got all the minerals in there. It also has some adrenal support in there as well, so that can be a good option. And then a big trend that we've seen as, as you mentioned is just low minerals across the board, just depleted minerals.
And in that case, brands like Relight are good. They have a good ratio across the board. Cure hydration is really good. I'm also a really big fan of trace mineral drops. These are flavorless, they have all your trace minerals in them. It's a little bit more of a balanced ratio. So it's good for kind of broad spectrum, longer term support for minerals. And then we can also just be thinking about mineral rich foods, things like coconut water, your root veggies, your fruits, your nuts and seeds.
Making sure that you're salting your food with a high quality salt can be really supportive as well.
Erin:
Okay. And so what you're seeing is that these die off symptoms can actually be like mineral depletion symptoms in disguise. And so that's why people are doing better when you replete the minerals. But before or during a gut healing protocol, they just seem to have less reactions.
Nicole:
Yeah, absolutely. Because I think too, like one of the biggest things we see with low minerals is people are more constipated, they're not clearing things out as well. We're not digesting our food as well, which these are all like, if you're not pooping regularly, if you are not absorbing nutrients, detoxification is just not going to work as well. So you're going to be more symptomatic. So bringing in that mineral support earlier on is one of the best things that we can do for support to reduce those die off symptoms in the first place.
Erin:
Can you give us an example of a client that you've worked with where this was a factor, just so we can kind of see it play out.
Nicole:
IRL with client examples relating to this. A lot of the clients that tend to be more symptomatic are ones with low minerals and tend to have things like constipation, skin stuff going on. I was recently working with a client who her main concerns were she was bloated, she was constipated, she was having skin rashes that were persisting. And we had started her on a gut protocol based on the testing that we did with her GI map and she had H. Pylori. She had quite a few different opportunistic bacterial overgrowths. She also had some parasites present. She also had a weakened gut immune response.
There was multiple things going on here. And as you've mentioned previously on previous podcasts, we do take a layered approach. So we started off by supporting her immune system, making sure digestion's working properly. Then we started to layer in some antimicrobials and she was having an uptick in skin rashes and an uptick in constipation. So we're seeing some die off reactions happening. We had already ordered the htma, so we got the results back and we saw that her minerals were trending low across the board. Especially she had low potassium, which is a biggie for constipation. She had a high demand for magnesium.
Magnesium also can play a role in constipation. And so we know that these minerals are really important for detoxification, motility, skin healing as well. And so when we added in some targeted mineral support, we did potassium forward electrolytes, she was already taking magnesium, so we just upped her dose and made sure that she was doing a high quality magnesium. And pretty quickly, with that additional mineral support, her skin breakouts calmed and she was having more regular bowel movements. She was just less reactive with the GUT protocol.
Erin:
So you've mentioned constipation kind of a lot, and I think we should probably talk about that. I did talk about that in that initial podcast. The very first part of the BLAST protocol that we teach in FNA is bowels. So the B in BLAST stands for bowels. And we have to address any constipation because everything that we're killing off has to leave the body. It has to be taken all the way to the toilet. So we have to make sure that our exit portals are opened up to actually be able to do that. So if you're constipated and on a kill protocol.
So that's the part of the protocol where we're introducing antimicrobials or antifungals to kill things off. You're not going to feel so great, as evidenced by everything that Nicole just said. So I kind of touched on it briefly in that GUT protocol podcast. But, like, again, let's make it real world for people. How are you supporting clients if they have sluggish bowels either before or starting a protocol? Obviously, mineral status is one thing.
Nicole:
Yeah, definitely. I had to laugh too, because I feel like somehow you and I always end up talking about constipation and poop. But it's just such a big, like, so many people I work with are constipated, and it makes a really big difference in how they handle treatment. We know that constipation will, particularly with GUT protocols, and die off. It absolutely is going to make it worse because as you said, we are taking these toxins all the way to the toilet through our poop. And when we have slow motility, toxins can hang around a little bit longer. They can stir up symptoms, they can stir up inflammation. And we also know a big part of constipation can be sluggish bile flow.
It's really important for the liver gut connection because what happens is those bacteria are killed off in the gut. They're sent to the liver and then they're sent for kind of packaging up and then they're sent back to the gut through bile for the final phase of elimination. And when things aren't eliminated, eliminated properly, they can kind of hang around and can create the die off symptoms. And so the sluggish bile flow can play into that by causing toxins to build up in the liver. Slow motility can cause toxins to build up in the gut. So it just makes people a little bit more reactive. And so when somebody is constipated or we are suspecting that they might not have great bile flow or maybe some sluggish liver function things like abdominal massages. There is an abdominal massage called the ileocecal valve massage is which where can be super therapeutic for just like manually moving things through the digestive tract.
Also a big fan of castor oil packs. Great for the liver, great for the gallbladder, great for motility. I know you and I have talked about this before when we were talking a little bit deeper about constipation in the past. But deep breathing is such a biggie as well for really helping to support the pelvic floor, making sure that we are having good circulation to the digestive tract. And then we can also bring in supplemental support as well, like with the client example that I gave. Magnesium can be a very therapeutic supplement for constipation. In particular magnesium citrate. And then we can also include bitter foods as well.
Digestive bitters, things like that can really help to support the digestive juices. It can help get things moving. They also contain a lot of nutrients that are very supportive for delivery and detoxification.
Erin:
And I love a good old fashioned ox bile. I do like really, really well with that. If I feel like my bowels are a little sluggish sometimes just throwing an ox bile and I will eat it like, or take it like a digestive enzyme. So with meals that can be pretty helpful as another tool. So we did a whole episode on fiber or did we do a whole. I did. We talked about fiber a lot. Yeah, we're always talking about like poop constipation Fiber, like something like that.
Let's at least give a head nod to fiber because that is a kind of. Can be a crucial part of a gut healing protocol.
Nicole:
Yeah, absolutely. Because we know that fiber, it's really important for bowel regularly is going to bulk up the stool. But fiber also has a pretty important role in binding up toxins and it can help to flush things out. That fiber also is the food for our beneficial bacteria. Our beneficial bacteria do play a role in detoxification, digesting our food, also supporting the gut microbiome in general. Like if we're trying to kill off bad bacteria, we need to support the beneficial bacteria to keep that balance in check. And then it's just important for helping with regularity. I always tell people with fiber that we want to be mindful of how you feel when you eat fiber.
Sometimes fiber can worsen constipation. This is something I know you and I have talked about it before, so it's worthwhile to pay attention how you feel with fiber. If you are feeling like you are getting more bloated or constipation's getting worse, or you're just more uncomfortable with increasing fiber, that's a sign that you are overdoing it. So just pay attention to how you feel as you increase fiber in your diet.
Erin:
I am just off of antibiotics. I had to go on them for like a seven day course for a sinus infection. So I am really prioritizing fiber right now because that's like the ultimate kill protocol is antibiotics. It's gonna kill everything. And so that is one of my strategies for essentially rehabilitating the microbiome. Because something that's like not always discussed, but we've certainly seen it clinically in practice, especially if we're running a GI map retest is after putting somebody on a gut healing protocol, a kill protocol. Even with all of the strategies in place, sometimes even the beneficial bacteria can take a whack. And it's not like a permanent thing always.
And there's certain things that we can do to rebuild, but there sometimes does have to be that, that rebuild phase. And so diet is a really great strategy for that and including lots of fiber.
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Erin:
You mentioned detoxification. So I think the next obvious place to go is the liver. And the liver is the second part of the BLAST protocol. So we have bowels and then we have L for liver. Because again, like Nicole said, when we kill off bacteria, they can release biotoxins and basically your liver does have to deal with them. So tell me how you're helping to support the liver with a gut protocol.
Nicole:
Yeah, definitely. It's really interesting how if you look at the phases of detoxification, like Google phases of liver detox. It is a very nutrient intensive process. Basically what the liver is doing is it's taking the toxins and bacteria from the gut, it's making them more water soluble, basically safer for elimination. And it requires a lot, a lot of nutrients. And when somebody has things like poor bile flow or a high toxic load, like if they have a lot of bacteria overgrown in the gut, if they have nutrient deficiencies, all of these things can make detoxification more difficult. So again, usually like with hydration and minerals and fiber, these are all things where we're usually talking about this stuff before somebody's gotten on a gut protocol. However, if you're going through a gut protocol and you're experiencing symptoms, there are a lot of things that we can do to support your liver and basically take some of that load off to make detoxification a little bit easier.
One of my favorite things is just through diet, making sure you're eating a nutrient dense diet. The phases of detoxification in the liver require a lot of B vitamins, a lot of glutathione, a lot of sulfur rich foods. So think like your cruciferous veggies, your citrus fruits, your radish, your dandelion, all of those are considered bitter foods. They will help to stimulate your digestive juices, stimulate bile. It also helps to promote bile flow. So all of those things can just help to support the liver and give your body the nutrients that it needs. And then I know I mentioned this with constipation, but castor oil packs, again, one of my favorite things, it's such an easy thing to implement in and you can put the castor oil pack over your liver. It's going to increase blood flow and circulation to the live, it's going to support bile flow and just give your body a little bit of extra detox support to take some of that load off the liver.
Erin:
And it's such a nice tool and strategy to have. That's like not another supplement. And it's something that helps the body just do its job better. So it kind of helps. That self healing process. That was really what I had to do with when I started the gut protocol. I just went in, I like did not take any of my own advice. I did not follow any of the strategies that we employ for our clients.
I just went like really rip roaring into a gut protocol and then I really just added some liver support and all of the skin reactions and the symptoms just kind of went away. I actually just recently, as an aside, started taking glutathione liposomal glutathione, the pump, which I haven't taken in a while. And oh, my gosh, now my, like, breath just smells like farts, you know, because it's so sulfur rich, it's, like, kind of gnarly. It's great. It's super effective. Wonderful liver support, but it smells like farts.
So let's talk about binders a little bit. I did briefly touch upon them in that last episode. Realistically speaking, how often are you using them with clients and how do you know when to add them in? Because some people will say binders have to be a part of every single gut protocol. We don't always, like, follow that to a T. So kind of talk through your rationale here with the use of binders.
Nicole:
Yeah, I definitely want to touch on this because I feel like when I was a new practitioner in the game, I. It kind of felt like everybody needed a binder, like we needed it as part of a protocol for detox support. And then I kind of quickly learned that that's not really the case, and most people can do just fine with all of the other things that we've talked about for support first. So my mindset around that definitely has changed. And I more so use it on an as needed basis. Whenever somebody is going to get started on a gut protocol with me, we'll talk through all of the above things. Making sure they're hydrating, getting in their minerals, they're doing the fiber, we're supporting their liver. And if they are still experiencing symptoms or if things are ramping up and feeling out of control, that's when I will start somebody on a binder, particularly too.
Like, as we mentioned earlier, people who are constipated tend to be a little bit more reactive on gut protocols and binders, while ones I use in practice don't necessarily worsen constipation. They typically are a blend of activated charcoal and clay, which are very bulking and can worsen constipation slightly. And so if somebody's already constipated, I'm generally not going to start them on a binder. I'm going to do all the other things first and then use that as kind of our last tool to bring in if it's needed. Generally, I will use a binder. If somebody like we're doing all the above supports, they're still headachy, they're still having brain fog, they're still experiencing digestive symptoms, then I can bring in a binder too. It really just helps to kind of bind up the toxins. It's going to reduce reabsorption of toxins if things are hanging around.
And it really, at its core, is just easing the burden on the liver to make detox a little bit easier.
Erin:
Yeah, I'm curious because, like, let's say somebody's like doing all of these strategies. They're like minerals, check, fiber check, you know, binders, check. And they're still not feeling better. I think sometimes people just want to get better so bad. There's this mentality of some is good, more is better, and so they just kind of like white knuckle, like, through the experience. Can you talk a little bit into, like, why that's not the best thing when it comes to detoxification?
Nicole:
Yeah, I totally agree. Detoxing is not at all about pushing harder or pushing through symptoms. That's what I tell people. Like, if things are really intense, that is a sign that we need to pause, we need to scale back, we need to add in support. If you are feeling like you're going through the GUT protocol and symptoms are manageable, you're noticing that things are slowly improving. Even if you're noticing some maybe minor flares in digestion, minor flares and symptoms, but generally things are progressing forward, that's a sign that things are going in the right direction. So I think when you are going through something like a GUT protocol, it's really important to make sure that you're listening to the feedback that your body is giving you. And if things are feeling disruptive, that's why it's really important, why we always encourage to have guidance, have a practitioner who is working through this protocol with you, because it happens.
It happens all the time. Where things pop up, people tend to spiral, or we get scared, we get anxious, and you don't know what to do. But we know as the client testimonial, in the beginning, we know that there is lots of options, there's lots of tools that we can bring in, and it just. It comes down to having somebody who can guide you through the process so you understand the messages that your body is telling you and you understand what support to add in.
Erin:
Can you give another example of a client that you've worked with where you've actually had to either pause or scale back or just add support due to reactions?
Nicole:
Yeah, absolutely. I was recently working with a client who was dealing with eczema. So again, skin constipation tend to be a little bit more reactive. And we had already done a lot of gut work at this point. And she had seen pretty good improvement in her skin, but not total resolution. It was pretty interesting. It seemed like her flares were a little bit more histamine driven after we had done the initial protocol. And we.
In my experience, histamine clients do tend to be a little bit more reactive just because it's. There's a little bit more involvement from the immune system. And so we had ran an HTMA after doing the initial gut protocol, and we saw that, that across the board, her minerals were low, but in particular copper, which is a really important mineral for histamine clearance. It helps to. It's a cofactor for the DAO enzyme in the gut, which is the enzyme that helps to break down histamines. And so that was low. And we actually paused from doing any sort of gut treatment. And we spent about two months just really leaning into gut barrier support, nourishing her beneficial bacteria.
We also did some deeper mineral support as well. And then after that, we were like, okay, this is a good time to revisit some of the gut protocol because she was still having a little bit of skin flares. And so we got her started on a second round and her skin had flared pretty drastically. Her eczema spots were red, they were itchy. She was also having hives popped up, which is not something she was usually experiencing, which is what's making us think a little bit more about the histamine piece. And I know when these symptoms initially popped up for her that this was sparking a little bit of anxiety. It kind of brought her back to what her symptoms have had felt like in the past, even though it wasn't quite where it was before. It was definitely stress inducing for her.
And so we really sat down and were reframing what was going on and trying to reframe her expectations around her symptoms and what was going on and understanding that this is just her body's way of communicating that it needed more support. Symptoms like skin flares, changes, things like that, they're just messages that our body is trying to send us. And so we definitely scaled back treatment. That's where we started. We upped her minerals. We added in some liver supportive foods. We also brought in some just like mast cell soothing histamine support. And pretty quickly things settled down.
And this is the client where you shared. In the beginning, she kind of told us that she felt safe in her body. She was understanding that, like, symptoms popping up does not mean that things are going backwards. There's definitely more options that we can bring in for support. And we know that on the journey for healing, I always tell people this, that it's up and down on the way up. So we might experience some regression, we might experience flares, but it doesn't mean that you are not still making progress forward. It's just a sign that the body needs a little bit of extra support.
Erin:
That's so important to set that context and kind of pre frame the situation up front. We never want to be like it's going to get really bad before it gets better because that's not always the case. Sometimes it just gets better, better. That's great. But I think that especially if somebody's coming to us with a long standing history of like a lot of stuff that's been going on for a while, maybe even chronic, it's so important to be like, hey, here's the lay of the land and here's how it could look. This doesn't mean it's a problem. Like we've got solutions, like we were saying at the, at the beginning. And Nicole, you're just such a great clinician and your clients are so lucky to have you for real.
Any final thoughts before we sign off here?
Nicole:
Yeah, I just want to say die off is common. It does not require you to knuckle through it and suffer. If you are experiencing symptoms, it's a sign to reassess, not to push harder. Work with a practitioner who can guide you through this, who can support you through it. Make sure that you are. If you're on a gut protocol, make sure you're hydrating, add in some mineral support, make sure that you're pooping regularly. Eat your fiber, add in some additional support if it's needed, like a binder. And if this is something that you're actively going through and you want, want more support, this is exactly what we do in our one to one membership and I'd be happy to help you.
Erin:
Thank you for coming on, Nicole. It was helpful and informative as always. We appreciate you.
Nicole:
Thank you.
Thanks for joining me for this episode of The Funk’tional Nutrition Podcast. Please keep in mind this podcast is created for educational purposes only and should never be used as a replacement for medical diagnosis or treatment. If you got something from today's show, don't forget, subscribe, leave a review, share with a friend and keep coming back for more. Take care of you.