Latest / Health with Hashimoto’s - Thyroid or Immune Education for Autoimmune Thyroid Disease / 166 // How to Find Trustworthy Hashimoto’s Advice on Social Media

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166 // How to Find Trustworthy Hashimoto’s Advice on Social Media · Health with Hashimoto’s - Thyroid or Immune Education for Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

• 0:00
  Why does navigating Hashimoto's advice on social media feel so overwhelming?
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  And how could we know what is true amidst all of the noise?
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  Today on the Health with Hashimoto's podcast, I am answering a listener question.
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  She sent it to me on Instagram, and she sent me, I think, five different content
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  creators, specifically autoimmune or Hashimoto's content creators on Instagram.
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  And she said this, as you can imagine, it can get quite overwhelming with so
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  many people claiming they have found the best way to cope with Hashimoto's and
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  selling their unique program.
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  I have had a private session with you before and I feel so much better since.
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  I've been taking your advice and I listen to your podcast, trusting the information
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  you give as an unbiased professional.
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  I hope you can fact check some of these other specialists and maybe react to them on the podcast.
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  She added that I might not want to call them out by name, but then specifically
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  said, I hope they're not spreading misinformation as they all have a big following
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  and some sell their own, quote, health programs.
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  Welcome to the Health with Hashimoto's podcast. This is where you will find
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  clarity and simple, sustainable strategies to feel better.
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  I want to help you figure out your root causes.
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  My name is Esther Yunkin. I am a registered nurse.
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  I spent about 17 years in the emergency department and then got sick and tired
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  of putting band-aids on chronic things.
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  I went back to school and now I have been in holistic health education for about 10 years.
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  I know how exhausting it is to live with fatigue, brain fog,
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  and the ups and downs of Hashimoto's, and that is why I'm here.
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  I'm here to cut through the confusion and to give you practical steps that support
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  your body, calm your immune system, so that you can regain your energy and feel like yourself again.
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  My goal in life is to function on facts.
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  I always want to know the truth and I want to convey that truth with love and
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  make sure that it is in a simple and sustainable way and in a simple and sustainable package.
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  And so disclaimer, I do have my own program.
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  I created the Holistic Hashimoto's program for people with Hashimoto's who are
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  looking to figure out their root causes and they are looking to make simple
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  and sustainable changes so that they can feel like themselves again.
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  And yes, I will be talking about my program as I talk about the others.
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  And to keep myself honest here, I didn't want to have any prejudice looking
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  at other programs or other content creators.
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  I did use AI and I ran like my program through the same questions that I asked
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  of other programs so that I'd get an impartial result and I would be able to
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  come to you with facts, not media, not hype,
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  not exaggerations.
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  Just facts, simple and sustainable, because your health matters.
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  So the first question, of course, is why does navigating Hashimoto's advice
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  on social media feel so overwhelming?
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  It's absolutely true because you're bombarded with conflicting claims.
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  You got some people saying diet is the main thing, and then you have keto or
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  detox. You have people talking about reversals.
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  Well, Hashimoto's is complex.
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  Autoimmune symptoms vary from person to person. Yes, in Hashimoto's,
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  we have a lot of similarities.
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  The fatigue, the bone weariness, the brain fog, the weight gain,
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  things like that are pretty common with people with Hashimoto's,
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  but no two people have the exact same root causes. You are an individual.
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  And so when you're looking at things on social media, it can be hard because
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  they're trying to appeal to a broad audience and you are not a broad audience. You are one person.
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  So that is one reason I created the Holistic Hashimoto's program.
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  I wanted it to be able to cut through the noise.
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  And as an RN, you know, I spent 17 years in Western medicine.
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  I went back to school for holistic health and specifically for holistic health
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  education and holistic health coaching. So that is my background.
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  Like I've got the Western medicine. I've got the RN stuff.
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  I've got the pharmaceutical background.
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  Been, you know, talking to people about their medications and about their Synthroid for decades.
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  And then I went back to school and I got the holistic picture.
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  And so I get to put them all together. And yes, I am still an RN.
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  So I created this program as an RN, which I feel is the first thing that stands
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  out from my content versus others.
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  A lot of other people have different backgrounds, obviously.
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  And nurses, we were trained, at least in the four-year program that I went through,
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  and then the additional two years, I was trained to help educate patients so
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  that they could be their own best advocate, so that they could figure out what
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  they needed to do for their own health.
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  That is one of my biggest roles as a nurse.
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  And so you want to look for programs that prioritize your unique needs over
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  a one-size-fits-all promise. And some of the programs that I looked at did have
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  a one-size-fits-all promise.
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  And to me, that is a red flag. If it's not teaching you how to...
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  Filter through things to figure out what is going to apply to your situation.
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  If it's just going to say everybody needs to do this, that's a red flag in my
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  book because you're individual.
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  And what everybody needs to do is usually, well, it can be misguided because you are unique.
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  All right, but what about the content creators themselves and the creators of the programs?
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  And I'm kind of talking about both of these things because a lot of the content
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  creators do have a program.
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  And a lot of the programs do have a social media presence.
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  Some of them are not a content creator themselves, but they are represented
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  by other content creators.
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  So there really is this huge overlap.
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  The question is, how can you tell if a Hashimoto's program or content creator
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  is trustworthy, and what role do credentials play in choosing the right one?
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  There are a lot of regulated titles.
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  When I'm looking at the top 10 different programs, you see RNs like myself,
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  you see registered dieticians, you see pharmacists, you see doctors,
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  DOs, and MDs, and those all signal that people have a deeper training.
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  Now, yes, we live in the world where all of this information is at the tip of
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  your fingers. So people can learn. I am absolutely not discounting that.
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  We can all learn. And sometimes you learn more, not in school.
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  But people who have those regulated titles, they do have specific training in
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  specific areas. And I do put a little more weight on that.
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  Another thing I will look at is how much do they sell with anecdotes?
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  Now, a testimonial, an anecdote, they are great. And we need them.
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  We need to know that this has worked for other people.
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  We want to know that. But at the same time, if that's how they are backing all
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  of their information, that makes me worried.
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  When I went back to school for holistic health, every single module that we
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  would do, I would be given a packet of research to read.
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  And those packets were studies.
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  They were all peer-reviewed studies, and they would be between 100 and 300 pages, just jam-packed.
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  Every single one was just full
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  of studies. And my job at school was to go through that entire packet.
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  I had to read the whole thing, and then I had to compile it all into something that made sense.
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  I needed to write a paper as if I was educating one of my clients or patients
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  and give them a whole person perspective. So I was trained to look at dozens of studies and
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  and put all of that information together in a way that made sense,
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  and then apply it to real life, body, mind, spirit, diet, environment.
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  That training was amazing.
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  And, you know, doing that for two years, that sure taught me how to look at
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  studies, which side note, it just makes me kind of giggle when people are like,
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  learn to read the research. Yep, done.
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  I know how to read the research, and then to explain it to others.
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  And I want people to always have that foundation of facts.
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  Yes, apply it to real life and tell people how things, you know,
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  how lives have been changed. We want to hear those stories.
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  And I will admit, if you have listened to this podcast, that's probably the thing I do the worst on.
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  I don't share as many testimonials as I should because I am so focused on facts,
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  because that is, that's kind of my brain.
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  Other people are more focused on stories, and that's totally fine.
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  But I want to make sure that when I am looking at a content creator or at a
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  course creator, that they are rooted in facts.
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  Credentials matter because a lot of people who are trained in specific programs,
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  you know, they have been taught to look at the facts.
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  Again, I'm not saying that other people can't. It's just one reason why I do
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  put a little bit more trust in somebody who has regulated title.
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  You know, you can't just call yourself a nurse.
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  People do. It is a regulated title. You have to have the training and you have
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  to have a license. You have to maintain that license.
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  There are a lot of things. And the next thing I want to know is what are they
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  talking about for root cause?
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  And then what does it really mean to address the root cause of Hashimoto's?
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  And why do some programs over-promise results?
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  And that's a big red flag if somebody is over-promising results.
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  Now, all of the programs that I looked at, they want to target root causes,
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  whether that's gut or stress or toxins.
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  Most of them are supported by science, at least of what I could find.
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  But some of them do have, in my view, they over-promise the results.
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  They claim that if you go through their program or their course,
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  that you will have reversed your Hashimoto's or that most of the people go into remission.
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  Well, that's awesome and I'm happy that people have success.
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  But quite honestly, that is a huge claim to make and it makes me a little nervous.
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  I am not going to claim that the people going through my course or program are
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  in remission or that they have reversed it.
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  I'm going to give you the tools to figure out your root causes.
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  And then I am going to give you tools and solutions to implement so that you
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  can deal with those root causes.
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  It is up to you to implement them. I don't have control over that.
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  I have control over the education I give you and the direction that I point you.
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  And yes, people have success and people are starting to feel like themselves
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  again, actually fairly quickly.
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  There are different things that you can do that make a big impact.
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  I just feel like it is a red flag if I see the words remission or reversed on
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  a sales page. To me, that is my lens.
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  Maybe some people appreciate it. So getting back to that root cause question,
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  what are you looking for?
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  Well, all of the programs do emphasize identifying and addressing root causes
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  of Hashimoto's symptoms.
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  And I want to find a program that is helping me focus specifically on my own things.
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  And again, not across the board. I am a bio-individual, as you are,
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  and I want things to align with functional medicine principles and personal triggers.
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  So to give you a specific example, like if somebody says in my program,
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  you are going to do this specific diet, that's fine.
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  And they're going to help you go through it. And perhaps the diet works for
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  you. Perhaps it doesn't. I haven't seen a single diet that is 100%.
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  80% is the highest that I have seen in the research and backed by studies, backed by results.
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  So I want a course creator to say, you're going to do this, you're going to
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  implement it, and you're going to see how you do.
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  And then maybe it's not the right fit for you.
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  And some people, they just don't do that. They say, you're going to follow this
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  diet and you're going to feel amazing.
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  And then voila, that's, that's a sales page.
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  And that is, that's not me. I love facts, not sales, not hype,
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  not media. I want the facts.
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  All right. The next question, and I hear this one a lot in different holistic circles.
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  It is, how can we make holistic health more approachable?
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  Or put another way, why are affordable and accessible Hashimoto's programs so hard to find?
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  And it's true. A lot of holistic health stuff or functional health stuff is more expensive.
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  And part of that, we've talked about it before, it's a broken insurance system.
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  It's a broken Western medical system. There's so many broken things.
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  And so when providers work outside of the insurance model, then they do have
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  to charge more because they are actually creating their own prices.
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  In traditional Western medicine, if you go to a regular, quote,
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  regular clinic, it's the insurance company that sets the price.
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  The insurance company tells your doctor or your nurse practitioner how long
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  they can spend with you, how many minutes they have with you,
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  how many patients they have to see in a day, and how much the insurance company
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  is going to reimburse them for every single patient.
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  It is all set by the insurance company.
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  And we don't have that in functional medicine or in holistic health,
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  people who have gone outside of the traditional practice. And that is awesome.
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  I've told you about my nurse practitioner. When I make a consult with her,
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  when I see her and I do it virtually, I have a half an hour because she sets her own time.
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  She doesn't have to abide by what the insurance company says.
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  And then I pay her directly. I can use my HSA or my FSA card, which is awesome.
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  If you have that, you know, it's tax free. It's pre-tax money set aside through
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  your work. I love that option.
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  And the thing is, a lot of.
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  Programs that you're going to enroll in yourself, they do cost $500 or more,
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  or they require ongoing subscriptions, and that can create a barrier.
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  So another problem is the low-cost options might lack depth or content.
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  So how do you find that balance?
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  Something that you can afford, but that's also trustworthy, that's going to
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  actually help you. It's not just going to provide a band-aid.
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  We And maybe that can use HSA or FSA options for payment.
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  When I was a baby business owner, I had just left or I was working on leaving
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  the emergency department and opening up my own practice online.
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  And I did hire a coach and I, you don't know what you don't know, right?
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  And this business coach was so focused on money.
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  He wanted me to charge $3,000 or maybe it was $5,000. and then he felt bad because
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  I was like a deer in the headlights, and he cut it down to $3,000.
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  I just can't charge that in good conscience because I want more people to be able to take it.
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  And that is why my course, for your entire four weeks, for the whole course, it's only $197.
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  Because my goal is that as many people as possible can take it.
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  And I know that if I charge $1,000 or $2,000 or $5,000 like that coach wanted
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  me to do, then it's going to be out of reach for a lot of people.
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  Also, to make my course more accessible for people, I did make it available through HSA and FSA.
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  That is a tax thing that's through the IRS. I had to make sure that I had my
• 16:12
  ducks in a row because you can't just say, oh sure, use your HSA or FSA.
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  You have to actually do legal things to make sure that it is, it's kosher.
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  And it is. So you can use your HSA or FSA.
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  I, on the website, I have a letter that you can print out and take it to your
• 16:29
  doctor in case you want extra documentation in case you would get audited.
• 16:34
  Because here's the thing for HSA and FSA to be eligible, it has to be treating
• 16:38
  a diagnosed condition. That is what the IRS says.
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  You know, the IRS, of course, they're for your best health and your best welfare, right?
• 16:48
  No, they're all about the money. And they only want you to use HSA and FSA dollars
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  to pay for diagnosed things.
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  And as part of that, what you're using your HSA and FSA on needs to be something
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  that your doctor thinks is part of your treatment plan.
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  That is what the IRS says. I don't have any control over that.
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  And so some courses are not going to be HSA or FSA eligible.
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  Mine is the Holistic Hashimoto's program is HSA and FSA eligible.
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  And like I said, I do have a letter in case you want documentation saying I
• 17:21
  do have this diagnosis and my doctor thinks that this program is part of my treatment plan.
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  And I explain in the letter to the doctor, you know, what it is so that your
• 17:30
  doctor can sign enough. And it makes it super easy. Just one little signature.
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  All right. So the final question that I am going to look through when I'm looking
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  at a course or a program is how can we choose a Hashimoto's program that empowers
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  me without falling for high pressure sales tactics?
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  Because like I said, I hired that business coach and it was high pressure sales
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  tactics. I was a baby business owner. I didn't know what I didn't know.
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  And now I absolutely know what to look for in a business coach,
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  and I apply that to looking for other coaches and programs as well.
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  We do not want high-pressure sales tactics. I want you to look for something that teaches you.
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  To be the best advocate for yourself. Every program that I've seen,
• 18:16
  it does want to empower you to have better health, but the best ones teach you
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  how to understand your own health,
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  how to talk to doctors, how to figure out what's going to work for you.
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  The best coaches, the best programs, the best courses empower you to graduate
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  from that program as a better decision maker for your own health.
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  And that is what I want for you. So yes, there are some people who are just
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  more aggressively, you know, pushing their sales.
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  That's fine. That is their personality.
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  Look for somebody who is going to help you be a better you.
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  You know, have better health at the end. You've implemented and you are seeing
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  changes, but also you're thinking differently.
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  You're able to filter through the information that's coming in so that you know
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  what's going to work for you, and you can disregard what's not going to work for you.
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  Focus on somebody, on influencers, on content creators, on course creators.
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  Focus on the ones that empower you.
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  Number one, that is my the biggest thing.
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  They have to have all of their content rooted in truth and facts,
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  and they have to make it simple.
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  They have to make it sustainable, because if it's not rooted in truth and facts,
• 19:41
  then who cares what they say, right?
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  And if it's not simple, then it's probably not going to be easily implemented into your life.
• 19:49
  And if it's not sustainable, then you just wasted your time and your money.
• 19:54
  It has to be those three things. It has to be true. It has to be simple.
• 19:58
  It has to be sustainable.
• 20:00
  And that is what I look for in a program. I hope this is helpful.
• 20:04
  I hope that this does help to answer that question in the DM.
• 20:09
  I didn't go into specific reels and carousels and things that different content
• 20:14
  creators have shared, but I hope I did teach you how I look at different things.
• 20:22
  Is it true? Is it simple? Is it sustainable?
• 20:25
  Can I trust the person who is talking. So hop down to the show notes,
• 20:30
  click on the link healthwithhashimoto's.com.
• 20:32
  You will see the Holistic Hashimoto's program at the top.
• 20:35
  You'll see all the information, but my course is designed to meet you where
• 20:39
  you are. It is affordable.
• 20:41
  You can use your HSA or your FSA. My course is about clear steps, not quick fixes.
• 20:48
  I want you to have the best health possible. So check it out at healthwithhashimoto's.com
• 20:53
  or head down to the show notes and click the link there. I'll see you next week.
• 20:58
  This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.
• 21:01
  Please discuss any changes with your trusted healthcare provider.
• 21:04
  To take your next step, join our school community and explore the courses available there.
• 21:09
  You do not have to figure your health out alone.
• 21:12
  So that is school, S-K-O-O-L.com, and it is the Health with Hashimoto's community.
• 21:18
  I'll see you next time on the Health with Hashimoto's podcast.