Balms and Manna Blog - Balms and Manna

How is Hashitmoto's Different Than Hypothyroid?

5/4/2026

HOW IS HASHIMOTO'S DIFFERENT THAN HYPOTHYROID?

Maybe you've wondered if you have thyroid issues. You certainly can relate to low energy, difficulty losing weight, brain fog and mood issues.

It all seems to point to low thyroid even though your doctor says your labs look fine. But then you hear about Hashimoto's. Now you are confused. Is it low thyroid or Hashimoto's? And what really is Hashimoto's?

Both Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism are a low functioning thyroid. Hashimoto's is different from hypothyroidism because of the auto immune root cause.

Thyroid autoimmune conditions are tested by looking at thyroid antibodies (TPO and TG) which can be done through a blood test. When testing for any thyroid disfunction, make sure you have a full thyroid panel done which tests TSH, T3, T4 and Reverse T3.

This may all feel overwhelming but auto immune conditions don't have to be scary! When you identify and address the root causes, the body can shift out of a state of attacking itself. With proper testing, nutrition and lifestyle choices, you can be feeling like yourself again!

Join my 180 Days to Wellness program for comprehensive root cause testing, personalized protocols and support and guidance with every step of your journey!

Schedule a free Discovery Call today to learn more!

How Do I Know If I Have a Thyroid Problem?

4/20/2026

HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE A THYROID PROBLEM?

As toxins increase, our food becomes less nutrient dense and the pace of our world and lives speeds up, it's not surprising that thyroid challenges are becoming more and more common.

Maybe you've wondered if some of the nagging, annoying symptoms you've been having are a result of your thyroid.

The thyroid's main function is to regulate metabolism. This includes how quickly the body uses energy, makes proteins and regulates body temperature. When the thyroid isn't functioning optimally, you either have hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) or hyperthyroidism (high thyroid function).

Blood serum tests are the best way to really see what's going on. But here's a quick list of common symptoms of either hypo or hyper thyroid.

Hypothyroidism

Dry, coarse hair
Thinning hair
Brittle nails
Loss of outer third of eyebrows
Puffy face
Slow heart beat
Constipation
Weight gain
Arthritis
Cold intolerance
Dry skin
Muscle cramps, stiffness and joint pain
Heavy menstrual periods
Fatigue
Depression
Infertility

Hyperthyroidism

Weight loss
Palpitations
Sweating
Heat intolerance
Warm, moist palms
Frequent bowel movements
Anxiety
Irritability
Infrequent or scant menstrual periods
Fatigue
Increased appetite
Infertility
Insomnia
Bulging eyes
Rapid Heartbeat

If these lists resonate with you and you are suspicious of poor thyroid function, there is a solution! With a simple blood test, you can have a better idea of where your thyroid function is.

Schedule a discovery call to learn about not only the testing that is available through my 180 Days to Wellness but also how together we will identify your root causes of these symptoms and help you on your way to being more energetic and feeling like yourself again!

SCHEDULE YOUR DISCOVERY CALL

You are What You Absorb, Not What You Eat.

4/7/2025

YOU ARE WHAT YOU ABSORB, NOT WHAT YOU EAT.

You've maybe heard the saying, You are what you eat. You can eat all the right things but if you don't absorb them, your body can't benefit from your food.

So how do you know if you are absorbing what you eat? There are many factors that go into absorption. Stomach acid, stress, the health of your gut lining, bacteria overgrowths, pancreatic enzymes, genetics and toxin levels are just a few.

There are markers on many functional lab tests that can point to if these factors are impacting your absorption. Blood tests, stool tests and mineral tests are all good tests to look at how well you absorb. You need someone trained in functional lab tests to help you go through your results to identify areas of weakness that need support.

Proteins and fats are two of the main macro nutrients that people struggle to absorb. Though you can still be struggling to absorb these nutrients without physical signs, here are a few ways to identify if you might not be absorbing fats and proteins.

Poor protein absorption- undigested food in stool and/or a heavy feeling in the stomach after eating
Poor fat absorption - floating stools and/or not tolerating greasy foods well

How to support better break down and absorption of your food:

1- Eating mindfully. Eat slower, chew your food more and don't eat while driving, standing or in front of a screen. The more you chew your food, the more it gets broken down.

2- Drink 1 tsp of raw apple cider vinegar in water BEFORE meals. This stimulates the production of stomach acid which helps to break down your food.

3- Take several deep breaths before eating. The less stressed (and more present you are) when you eat, the more calm and ready your digestive system is to receive and digest your food.

3- Take enzymes. There are enzymes for different parts of our food. Enzymes help break down sugars, proteins, fats, carbs, lactose, etc. The lower your level of enzymes, the less your food will break down and the less you can absorb. Terrazyme is a enzyme supplement that contains all the different enzymes to support your body's natural levels of enzymes.

Absorption of nutrients, especially fats and proteins, affect so many things. Memory, focus, skin, cardiovascular health, hair growth, liver health, hormones, weight loss, energy and inflammation. It's so much bigger than just what you eat! It's making sure that you absorb so that you don't have bigger, more chronic issues that show up over time.

If you want to make sure you are absorbing well or are curious if poor absorption might be a root cause to some of the annoying things you are dealing with, schedule a free discovery call today to talk about how functional testing can help you KNOW!

WHY DO A STOOL TEST?

2/26/2024

WHY DO A STOOL TEST?

Do you have unpredictable gas that hinders you from going out with friends?

Always have to know where the bathroom is "just in case"?

Bloating that nothing seems to help?

Spend way more time sitting on the toilet than you want to?

Have reoccuring pain in your stomach that keeps you from feeling your best?

Ever wondered if there was a way to "see" inside your gut? To find out what might be causing those persistent, annoying digestive issues? But without an invasive, costly procedure?

There is a way! Stool testing is a simple at home test that will give insights into many components of gut health.

STOOL TESTING
Stool testing gives you a comprehensive look at overall gut health including:

levels of good bacteria
overgrowths of unfriendly bacteria
nutrient absorption
liver health
integrity of your gut lining
sensitivity to gluten
immune function
inflammation

The GI MAP (Gastro Intestinal Microbial Assay Plus) is a specific type of stool testing. It relies on quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technology to detect parasites, bacteria, fungi, and other microbes, by targeting the specific DNA of the organisms tested. This removes human error and tests for anaerobic microbes.

HOW IT WORKS:
The test collection kit is shipped to you. You simply collect your stool and use the provided tools to gather some of it into a specimen vial. This vial is sent back to labs in the provided, prepaid envelope and is then analyzed.

Learn more about stool testing and how it can benefit you! Schedule a discovery call and we'll dive deeper into your specific gut health!

TEST DON'T GUESS

2/12/2024

TEST DON'T GUESS

It's common to try to manage our health on our own.

Maybe the issue we are dealing with isn't terrible. Or at least it doesn't keep us from doing our daily tasks. But overtime we get tired of dealing with the annoyance wondering if there is a solution and if it will ever get better.

Trial and error is a costly road. We try something for awhile and if we don't see results, we feel like it doesn't work. And it's money that's been spent without getting answers.

FUNCTIONAL TESTING
Functional tests are:

specialty tests that measure biomarkers that aren't routinely measured by traditional labs
give a baseline of health (intestinal, liver, hormones, blood sugar, thyroid, minerals, stress response)
uncover common challenges
identify root causes to symptoms

By testing, you stop the frustrating cycle of trial and error and often find pieces to the puzzle that were missing.

Functional testing is one of the foundational pieces of my wellness programs. Because I am looking for root causes, not disease, I will often use specific avenues of testing to find curmulative totals in the body rather than what is just available for current use. For example, a saliva hormone test will show not just the levels of hormones in the blood but the amounts that are also bound to metabolites. This gives a more accurate picture of imbalances in the body.

In my program, not only do you have access to functional tests that are difficult to get through a traditional doctor but you also get up to 70% off conventional pricing! That's a huge discount that you won't find with traditional health care.

To learn more about functional testing and the other benefits of my Personalized Wellness Program, schedule a discovery call today!

Why A Hormone Test?

7/26/2023

WHY A HORMONE TEST?

Why would I need a hormone test? And what would it tell me?

WHY:
Although these have become part of so many people's lives, they are all signs that your hormones might need some attention:

Weight gain/inability to lose weight
Mood swings- depressed, irritable, anxious
Poor sleep
Night sweats
Decreased libido
Fatigue
Sick frequently
Intense cravings for salt/sugar
Joint aches
Low energy/energy slumps
Digestive issues
PMS- painful, bloating, breast tenderness
Irregular periods/absent periods

HOW:
When our body perceives stress (whether chemical, physical or emotional stress), it sends a series of signals from our brain to our adrenal glands. This is the body's normal response and increases cortisol and adrenaline to appropriately respond to the stress.

As the body adapts to stress, the hormone levels return to normal. However with ongoing stress, the levels in the body start to become imbalanced.

WHAT:
A Salivary Hormone Profile shows you how your body is responding to this signaling pathway and where you are in the stress response. It gives a picture of whether you are in an acute stage of stress or whether you have been dealing with stress for long periods of time.

It will also show how the stress response is impacting sex hormone levels. It includes the following markers:

Total cortisol levels
Cortisol levels throughout the day
DHEA
Estradiol (the most strongest form of estrogen)
Progesterone
Testosterone

Really, it is a big picture of how your body is responding and handling stress and how that manifests in the things you are struggling with in every day life.

It truly gives you answers and connects what you feel to what is going on in your body! Learn more about salivary hormone testing.

Schedule a Discovery Call to Learn More

When the Doctor Say Everything Looks Fine...

6/26/2023

WHEN THE DOCTOR SAY EVERYTHING LOOKS FINE.... BUT IT DOESN'T FEEL FINE.

Have you ever left an appoint after reviewing some results that were all "normal" but in your gut you knew that they were anything but "normal"? It's that defeated, confused feeling of wondering if all the things you are feeling are in your head. And feeling lost with not knowing what to do next.

You are not alone. So many people experience this. Not because doctors aren't there to help you. They are there to treat diseases and to spring into action when your results are in the disease ranges. They aren't there to be proactive and help you find root causes and see patterns of what's going on in your body.

That's where I come in. As a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, I am trained to do functional testing to find hidden stressors that are contributing to the health chaos you are having. This means I work with you to be proactive and comprehensive to find patterns and root causes as to why you aren't feeling well.

Let's take a look at one of these functional tests: basic blood labs.

Basic blood labs are generally compromised of a Complete Metabolic Panel, a Lipid Panel and a Complete Blood Count. These will give you an idea of how your liver, kidneys, adrenals and immune system are functioning. It can also give insight into electrolyte balance, gut health and cholesterol.

Conventional lab ranges are based on a bell curve distribution of test results. What this means is conventional ranges are based off the "normal" person and those ranges get wider and wider as the population gets sicker and sicker. Optimal ranges are based off of what is best for optimal health.

I look at the optimal range for each marker to find patterns that point to imbalances in the body. This can give direction and insight into further functional testing recommendations and confirm the things that you've already been suspicious of. And help you know that what you are feeling isn't all in your head.

This is not intended for medical advice, to diagnosis or treat.

CONTACT ME TO GET STARTED WITH YOUR BLOOD LABS

3 Hormone Benefits of Magnesium

4/5/2023

3 Hormone Benefits of Magnesium

Most people have heard of magnesium. And some may even have heard that it's helpful for the body.

Truth is, magnesium is one of the most beneficial minerals for your body, especially under stress. It's needed for heart health, detoxification, blood sugar balance, mental health, sleep, stress reduction and energy.

Benefit #1- Healthy Thyroid Function

Our stress response, oxidative stress, inflammation and adrenal function greatly impact thyroid health.

Elevated cortisol and stress hormones block the production of TSH which means our thyroid doesn't get the message from the pituitary to make thyroid hormones.

Magnesium also helps to transport iodine into our cells and to convert T4 to T3 which are both essential for healthy thyroid function.

So without magnesium, our thyroid simply can't function well!

Benefit #2- Blood Sugar Balance

Magnesium in needed for insulin to work properly in the body. It plays a role with how insulin gets in our cells and insulin sensitivity.

Deficiency of magnesium is associated with insulin resistance so it's important to have the right magnesium levels if you struggle with blood sugar balance.

Benefit #3- Estrogen Detox

Magnesium supports detoxification of estrogen.

Magnesium has a relaxing effect on the bowels which allows estrogen to be eliminated rather than being reasorbed and recirculated in the body. If you aren't having regular bowel movements (at least one per day), this can contribute to estrogen dominance and extra stress on the liver.

Much of our excess estrogen is broken down and removed through the liver. Magnesium is required for the enzyme responsible for healthy estrogen elimination to work efficiently.

Not sure where your magnesium levels are? A Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis is the best way to see how your body is using and storing all your macro and micro minerals, including magnesium. Plus it will give a picture of where your adrenal, thyroid, blood sugar and nervous system function is at.

Learn more here or contact me for a discovery call to learn more!

Tired of Playing Guess and Check with Your Health?

1/12/2023

TIRED OF PLAYING GUESS AND CHECK WITH YOUR HEALTH?

So often when we have a problem, we do what we do best- try to figure it out on our own. Sometimes that's effective and sometimes it's not. When it comes to our health, often it's not just one thing that is causing us to feel bad. It's a multitude of things.

Trial and error is a costly road. We try something for awhile and if we don't see results, we feel like it doesn't work. And it's money that's been spent without getting answers. Maybe it's a piece to the puzzle but there are multiple things that all add up to us not feeling well.

TEST DON'T GUESS

Stop guessing and start testing.

I am excited to now offer a multitude of functional testing options to identify hidden stressors in hormones, immune, digestion, energy, liver health and detoxification.

Together with these specialized tests and a comprehensive personal health assessment, I can help you create a personalized program to address the metabolic chaos and get you on a path of wellness and wholeness!

Understanding Lab Tests

6/3/2020

Do you ever get your labs results back from the doctor and wonder what it means if your numbers are out of range? And then what should you do about it?

Conventional lab ranges are based on a bell curve distribution of test results. What this means is conventional ranges are based off the "normal" person and those ranges get wider and wider as the population gets sicker and sicker. Optimal ranges are based off of what is best for optimal health.

Looking at optimal ranges of lab tests can provide valuable information about body function and processes. It's one of the tools I use to identify risk factors and for lifestyle recommendations for optimizing health. By taking a look at all the results together, it can provide pieces to a build bigger picture of the person's health as a whole.

If you would like more information about lab tests and how they can help you identify risk factors, let me know. I would be glad to help you!

*I do not willfully diagnose or treat diseases or medical conditions, nor do I perform any invasive bodily procedures. I do not prescribe or administer drugs or controlled substances to another person.