Latest / Health with Hashimoto’s - Thyroid or Immune Education for Autoimmune Thyroid Disease / 164 // Gut Health, Skin Issues, and Hashimoto's: How These Three Systems Drive Each Other [Interview with Alissabeth Taylor]

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164 // Gut Health, Skin Issues, and Hashimoto's: How These Three Systems Drive Each Other [Interview with Alissabeth Taylor] · Health with Hashimoto’s - Thyroid or Immune Education for Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

• 0:00
  All right, welcome to another episode of Health with Hashimoto's.
• 0:02
  I am so excited to welcome you to meet our guest today, Elizabeth Taylor.
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  She is a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner.
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  She helps busy women heal gut and skin issues naturally without quick fixes and no guesswork.
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  Through her virtual practice, she shares a root cause whole body approach to
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  restore energy, confidence, and vibrant health.
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  Welcome to the podcast, Elizabeth.
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  Thank you. I'm so excited to be here with you. Yes. So give us a little background.
• 0:36
  What brought you to what you do now?
• 0:39
  Yeah. So I started out as a nurse and, you know, was really called into that field.
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  And as I began to grow my family, I was looking for more holistic ways to take care of my kids.
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  And you know that just started incorporating things
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  like chiropractic homeopathy stuff like
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  that and then about 10 years ago I had a
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  personal health crisis where it's basically like
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  my bucket tipped over you know all those
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  things added up and then it just exploded and that exacerbated rashes all over
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  my body and these were not just normal rashes and then I had a lot of gut issues
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  along with that So I had to seek out help that wasn't in the medical system
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  because they were not giving me answers.
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  They said things were fine. They were just prescribing me creams and steroids and that kind of thing.
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  And the catalyst was really when one of the doctors, I think it was an allergist,
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  told me that food had nothing to do with the rashes I was experiencing.
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  Oh, my goodness. So there was no credit given to the nutrition aspect of things.
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  And I just was like, okay, I guess I'm going to have to do this on my own.
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  And I did. And it was a long, hard journey.
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  And so that brought me to this place where I wanted to help other women with
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  gut and skin issues who were being underserved, who were not finding answers,
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  who were frustrated and stuck.
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  And it just brought me to FDN, which allowed me to do health coaching that I had already studied.
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  But it took it a step further by being able to use functional lab work to really
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  get to the root so that we could see where the imbalances in the body lie.
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  And then we could work with the protocol to, you know, use the body's innate
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  ability to heal itself properly.
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  With what we were doing with diet and rest and exercise and all those types of things.
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  Yeah, I love that because the body is always trying to heal. Yes.
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  Like sometimes we get stuck in the thought of we need to fix it,
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  but really we need to allow our body to fix what's going on and maybe we need
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  to stop sabotaging things.
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  So what was the biggest thing for you? Was there one thing or was it multiple?
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  With my own health? Yeah.
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  Really I think it had to do with
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  the rashes and you know at the time I was teaching and
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  these were rashes that were like little water blisters all
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  over my hands they would leak and ooze
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  and then they would crust over and it was really embarrassing so when I was teaching
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  the kids started saying Miss Taylor what's wrong
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  with your hands and as a 30 year
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  old woman you know it felt like you were in
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  school again you know being super self-conscious about your body
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  so I think that was really
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  really my low point that made
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  me want to figure out what it was and do whatever it took
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  to get rid of it and not have to deal with that again because it was embarrassing
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  the self-identity issue of that of any health aspect is huge and it's you know
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  it's not talked about a lot yeah that is so true absolutely and people talk
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  about you know invisible illnesses.
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  And yes, when you have the invisible stuff, you have the self-identity and you
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  feel like a different person.
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  But then when you have the visible stuff too, that's a whole other layer.
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  Yeah, that's huge. So you transitioned from nurse to functional medicine or
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  functional nutrition. Do you still do nursing?
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  I have my license, but I'm not actively practicing. You know,
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  it's kind of there as a fallback.
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  You know, I don't discredit any of the education I got or the experiences because
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  it's brought me to where I am today.
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  And I use that knowledge every day when I'm working with clients.
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  So I am thankful for that.
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  Yes, absolutely. So tell me about like testing and approaches,
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  especially in light of thyroid.
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  If somebody came to you and they said, I have Hashimoto's, where would you start?
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  Well, first, I would say that stress is the catalyst for everything,
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  you know, and that, unfortunately, is not just physical or emotional stress.
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  You know, that's the toxins in our environment, in our foods,
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  it's the chemicals we're using in our home, it's the products we're using on
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  our body, you know, and it could be imbalances within our body that are stressors.
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  So there's that aspect.
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  And then in FDN, we use a term called metabolic chaos.
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  Is really learning that the body is interconnected.
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  And I teach this to my clients when we're reviewing labs, that you may think
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  you have a thyroid issue, but that may not be the root. It could be the result of another system.
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  So when we have stress, the body, you know, cortisol is our stress hormone.
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  If that becomes imbalanced and the body needs more energy, it starts to pull
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  on other body systems for energy.
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  And then you have a system pulling on another system and then that system gets
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  low and it goes and it pulls from another system. So that's what we call metabolic chaos.
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  And we talk about hormones, immune, digestion, detoxification,
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  energy production, and nervous system in my coaching.
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  And all of these systems connect with each other.
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  So you may be struggling with your thyroid, but it's like the chicken or the egg.
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  Did that come first or is that the result of something else?
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  And the big players with the thyroid or the adrenals, which I mentioned with
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  cortisol and gut health.
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  So we look at those aspects of the body and then we run testing.
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  So there's different tests that you could do for thyroid. You know,
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  I usually start all my clients on a Dutch test, which is a hormone test and a GI map.
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  If they're able to, we do food sensitivity testing as well because what you
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  eat turns into your cells, you know? So it's very important to make sure that
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  the foods you're eating are serving your body and not inflaming your body.
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  And then there's another test I've started using recently, which is a hair tissue
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  mineral analysis, which checks mineral balance.
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  Because we don't realize that minerals are the spark plugs for our body.
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  And if we're imbalanced in minerals,
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  they can work synergistically or antagonistically with other minerals.
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  And you get these deficiencies and we can actually see based on certain ratios
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  what's going on with the adrenals, the thyroid, blood sugar,
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  all the different things. So those are just some of the tests I utilize.
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  So Dutch test, the hair and tissue analysis, and then what was the other one? The GI map. Yeah.
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  So if somebody has to pick just one, which one is the most, I don't know what
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  to say, important or insightful?
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  Like which one would you pick if they could only do one?
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  Yeah. So I, if someone's finances are restrictive or they don't want to do all
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  the testing, I would say a GI map. because what goes on in your gut directly
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  reflects in other systems of the body.
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  So if we can get a handle on, you know, what's going on in the gut and then
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  work on nutrition and lifestyle protocols to help support the gut immune system,
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  you know, you really see a major improvement in most issues.
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  Yeah, and I love in your bio, you mentioned you're not a proponent of short-term fixes.
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  So if somebody is working with you and they do the testing, and now you're talking
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  about nutrition and changing lifestyle stuff, what's a good timeline for somebody
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  to set their expectations?
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  When should they hope to see changes?
• 8:23
  Gosh, that's a tough one because, you know, we're each individual.
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  And unfortunately, when we go to the doctor, we're all treated the same.
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  So we're used to quick fixes, take this medicine, it's going to fix your problem.
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  But it doesn't work for everyone. And then you spend time searching.
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  So I like to look at bio-individuality.
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  And with my clients, you know, the thyroid's a big one because there's so much that impacts it.
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  So it really just depends on the complexity of what the person has going on.
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  You know, the amount of stressors we see on the labs, that type of thing.
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  But, you know, I've had clients see improvement within a few weeks to a few
• 9:00
  months, and then I've had some that takes more like 9 to 12 months to really
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  see. So it just depends on the individual situation.
• 9:08
  Wow. Nine to 12 months, that's a long time. Yeah.
• 9:12
  Yes. But in that process, you know, you're learning life-changing skills that
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  are going to serve you for the rest of your life.
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  So it's not like you're not learning anything.
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  Right. You're making all these changes. And, you know, I like to say it's,
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  you know, it's a race, not a sprint, you know?
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  So. So yeah, I remember my health journey, or actually like my professional
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  journey kind of started when my fourth son was a baby and he had eczema head to toe.
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  And so I had to do an elimination diet. And I so very badly wanted like the microwave fix.
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  Like, okay, I started my elimination diet, you know, yesterday,
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  I should be seeing results in his skin today.
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  Like, no, no, it's not going to work that way. It was so depressing to wait
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  for weeks to see a change and knowing that I couldn't do anything to speed it
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  up because he didn't have a steroid deficiency.
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  Like there was something that I needed to be changing.
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  And that's the case with everybody's health. Yeah, for sure.
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  Yeah, we want those overnight fixes.
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  Right, we do. And that's why I offer the coaching with it, because you'd want
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  somebody there to help keep you accountable, to listen to you during those frustrating
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  times where you feel like things aren't working.
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  And a term I frequently use with my clients is we're peeling back the layers
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  of the onion. You know, an onion has so many layers.
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  We could peel back one layer and, you know, resolve some of the issues,
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  but then we could completely uncover something else.
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  So it's just, you have to remember that you didn't get in the health that you're
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  in now overnight, and it's not going to reverse overnight either.
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  Right. Yes. So with all the testing, is there any common misconceptions that
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  people have around testing? I think that,
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  You know, people aren't used to the testing that I do. They're different.
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  They look at things differently. They're more comprehensive.
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  You know, there's pros and cons to every test. You know, the body is constantly
• 11:13
  changing chemically, blood work.
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  You know, you could get blood work done this morning and then this afternoon,
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  and it would be totally different.
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  So there's those aspects. And when I use this testing, I'm not a doctor. I don't diagnose.
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  I'm not looking at these for a diagnosis.
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  We're looking at them to see correlation with your symptoms.
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  What stressors you have going on. And then we work with the body.
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  So I think that's the biggest thing is just, you know, it's not to diagnose you.
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  It's just to see where we need to support the body. I love that viewpoint.
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  We need that, like, shouted out loud and clear.
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  Because people feel like, you know, they're going to see somebody,
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  you, me, whoever, and we're going to give them a diagnosis. Nope. Nope.
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  I'm not a doctor. You're not a doctor. I'm not going to diagnose you.
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  But that doesn't mean that we can't help you.
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  We can still help you. You don't need a diagnosis to make changes in your life. For sure. Yes.
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  So I have a question from our school community. It's Health with Hashimoto's
• 12:17
  on school, S-K-O-O-L.com.
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  This person, it was Emily. She wrote, does anyone else have facial acne breakouts,
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  eczema in ears, itchy scalp, sleeplessness, and slow healing skin scrapes?
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  So in all of her complaints, there's a ton of skin stuff and your story started with skin.
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  So can you tell my listener a little bit about, you know, thyroid and skin or
• 12:43
  what you would be looking at there?
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  Gosh, yeah. When I hear all those symptoms, right, because they are symptoms,
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  I just think of the interconnectedness that we talked about a little bit earlier.
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  You know, you may have a thyroid issue and yes, the thyroid can definitely impact your hair and your skin.
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  But when you start talking about like eczema and itchiness and I can't remember
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  everything that you said, I start thinking gut you know do we possibly have
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  some candida do we have any parasites do we have.
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  You know too little gut bacteria or
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  do we have too much gut bacteria because everything in
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  the body needs to be in a perfect balance not too much
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  not too little so really there's a lot of ways you could go with that and that's
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  why I do the testing so that we're not guessing at what the issue is we have
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  concrete data so as far as the thyroid goes you know there's a bi-directional.
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  Axis between the gut and the thyroid and you know the thyroid can impact the
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  gut and then the gut can impact the thyroid and we just have to figure out where
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  those stressors lie so that we can decrease that inflammation decrease that
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  immune response and you know try to resolve some of those issues.
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  Yeah. Yeah, it's, there's no quick fix. No, there's not.
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  And everything is related to everything. When I started going back to school
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  for holistic health, the professor would say that all the time.
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  I don't want everything to be related to everything. I just want a quick answer.
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  I know, it would be so much easier if it was just one thing, but it's not.
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  And then, you know, like I mentioned, hidden before in the metabolic chaos,
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  those systems bounce off each other.
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  So you just, you know, you just never know where the true root of the issue lies.
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  But we don't necessarily have to know the root of the issue.
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  If we see those stressors and we start removing those stressors and start balancing
• 14:39
  the body, you know, eventually it will come back to homeostasis. Yeah.
• 14:44
  Is there something that you see in a lot of your clients to say like,
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  you know, I've worked with 100
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  women and 99 of them needed to remove this particular thing as a stressor?
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  Is there anything like that? Yes, you might know what I'm going to say,
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  but really, especially with Hashimoto's, the biggest trigger is going to be
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  gluten and the gluten impact on your gut.
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  But there's also cross-reactive foods, and this is why food sensitivity testing
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  can be important. You know, some people also react to the soy,
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  the dairy, because they're inflammatory on the body.
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  And if you already have autoimmune issues, you want to try to remove as many
• 15:23
  of those inflammatory foods as possible.
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  So I would say gluten is the biggest one.
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  And, you know, when my clients remove the gluten and the ones that will do the
• 15:33
  gluten in the dairy, they see tremendous improvement in their skin. Right.
• 15:39
  What are some tips to get started if you want to go gluten-free?
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  Because a lot of women, they're nervous, they're scared, like it's too high of a hurdle.
• 15:48
  What are your tips for going gluten-free?
• 15:52
  Well, I will say that I went gluten-free when I was searching for my own answers,
• 15:56
  and I didn't know you should be gluten-free 10 years ago. It wasn't a huge thing.
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  I think the biggest thing is to just do it, you know, just to pick that one thing.
• 16:05
  If you just take gluten out, the most important thing is reading your labels
• 16:09
  because it's hidden everywhere in sauces, condiments.
• 16:12
  It's in makeup and skincare products. It's everywhere. So you have to be careful.
• 16:17
  But you have the advantage if you start doing that now that I didn't have 10
• 16:21
  years ago, is there's so many good substitutes, you know?
• 16:25
  So it's really not as hard to do now as it was when I did it 10 years ago. I totally agree.
• 16:33
  There was not a lot of substitutes when I went gluten-free either.
• 16:36
  And it tasted like cardboard. Now it actually tastes like real food, you know? Yes.
• 16:41
  Yes. And a while back, I did an episode on hidden sources of gluten.
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  And then, like, I don't know, a month or two later, somebody on Facebook is
• 16:51
  like, did you know that levothyroxine has gluten in it? I'm like, wait, what?
• 16:55
  That wasn't part of my hidden one. So I called my pharmacist and then I did an episode on that.
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  And it's in some of the fillers and not every brand.
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  So the only way you know is by calling your pharmacist because it's not on the label.
• 17:08
  When you get your medicine bottle I mean you're right it's so tricky it's so
• 17:14
  hidden and sometimes you have to go beyond reading the label and actually call
• 17:19
  the pharmacy right I have a client who tested for corn sensitivity.
• 17:24
  So that's one of those cross reactives that the body can kind of,
• 17:28
  view is called molecular mimicry it views the
• 17:31
  structure similar to gluten which and then
• 17:34
  if you have autoimmune issues it confuses those as you know
• 17:36
  antibodies attacking that kind of thing but she realized
• 17:40
  that corn was in her i think it was the teeth is it cytomel maybe i think there's
• 17:46
  corn in there and it was one of the triggers for her just that little bit that
• 17:50
  she was getting in that was causing issues for her so yeah you have to be very
• 17:54
  careful so she's taking the medication to feel better,
• 17:58
  to replace something that her body isn't doing.
• 18:00
  And then by doing the good thing, she's also causing the bad thing.
• 18:04
  I mean, you're right, it's peeling back the layers of the onion.
• 18:07
  Yeah. So did she have to switch brands or what did she do?
• 18:11
  She actually went a totally different route, but yeah. Okay.
• 18:15
  It was coming away from it. Yep.
• 18:17
  So tricky. I'm so glad that, you know, people have experts like you to help
• 18:23
  them peel back those layers and figure everything out. And there's just so much
• 18:27
  information out there. You would never be able to.
• 18:29
  And I'm still learning of hidden things. You know, it's just a never ending journey of learning.
• 18:34
  Yes. Yes. And conflicting things. Every time you, you know, ask a question, especially with AI now,
• 18:42
  you know, you type in something into Google or your search engine of choice
• 18:46
  and it gives you the AI answer first. And sometimes it's completely wrong.
• 18:51
  Yeah. And, you know, I'll ask it. What are your sources for that?
• 18:56
  Like argue with the AI because sometimes it's wrong but
• 18:59
  people are like oh you know the AI is probably compiling
• 19:02
  the top answers so of course this is right and
• 19:06
  it's not yeah and you know I heard recently that another practitioner went and
• 19:12
  got incorrect information from AI because she knew this from her training and
• 19:16
  she asked where it got it and it turned out to be I guess just searching like
• 19:22
  Facebook groups or like online groups.
• 19:25
  And so it was just chitter chatter between people. And so it recognized that
• 19:29
  as credible information when it was just people's opinions, you know,
• 19:33
  so you really have to ask for, you know, reputable sources.
• 19:38
  Oh, my goodness. That's crazy. Yeah.
• 19:41
  Yeah, it is. For a while, Google had like a weighted, they weighted your expertise
• 19:48
  when they were doing their search engine stuff. And so maybe...
• 19:55
  Maybe the AI forgot to do that. That's scary. It's not as smart as it thinks it is. Right?
• 20:01
  Yeah. Okay, so if somebody is just beginning to address their root causes,
• 20:07
  they're thinking about maybe working with you, doing all the testing,
• 20:11
  they schedule their appointment, what should they do first, either while they're
• 20:14
  waiting to work with you or, yeah, just first?
• 20:18
  You know, you can always start. And I, you know, I do a free discovery call
• 20:22
  with people to learn about them.
• 20:24
  And then we individualize what testing and what protocols, you know,
• 20:28
  because I said we are all bio-individuals. So I don't cookie cutter my protocols or my process at all.
• 20:35
  But when my clients get their labs, they do these labs at home,
• 20:38
  and then we're in that, you know, three to four week waiting period.
• 20:41
  We work on the basics, you know.
• 20:43
  Are you eliminating through your bowels? Are you sweating? Are you hydrating?
• 20:48
  You know, so we work on drainage pathways. and then
• 20:51
  we work on starting to implement some of those dietary changes
• 20:54
  like let's read your labels let's look at how much sugar you're eating are you
• 20:58
  eating enough fruits and vegetables you know and we just start with the basics
• 21:01
  until we have more information so you know I like to use that time instead of
• 21:07
  waste it because we can get started with the simple things right away,
• 21:12
  absolutely yes and the elimination like how just like be honest how many times
• 21:18
  a day or a week or month? Should somebody be pooping?
• 21:23
  So, you know, I had someone tell me they were only pooping twice a week and
• 21:26
  I was like, oh my gosh, you know, all that stuff is stagnating in your gut.
• 21:30
  It's recirculating through your liver. It's adding to your toxic burden.
• 21:34
  So I prefer at least one good bowel movement a day.
• 21:38
  You know, if you're eating properly and you're hydrating, you should have that.
• 21:43
  If you're not, then there's obviously a deeper issue as to why you would be
• 21:47
  constipated. But we know constipation
• 21:48
  is a side effect of thyroid issues because it slows things down.
• 21:53
  So, you know, we use some methods to help move that along and get things going.
• 21:59
  Yes. Yes. Yeah, you don't want
• 22:01
  a septic tank inside or an outhouse inside your gut. That's, yes, I've.
• 22:07
  Taking care of a lot of people with that too. And I'm like, wait,
• 22:09
  what? You last pooped a week ago? I know. Yeah.
• 22:13
  Yes. Well, then you have people that deal with diarrhea constantly.
• 22:17
  And so they think they're constipated when they come down to one or two bowel
• 22:21
  movements a day. And it's like, no, that's normal.
• 22:24
  So you have it on both sides of the spectrum. Absolutely.
• 22:28
  You do. Everybody has stuff that they can work on. And I love that you make
• 22:31
  it simple and you're focusing on like those sustainable things, working on lifestyle,
• 22:37
  working on diet and really empowering your clients to know what they're doing
• 22:43
  and why they're doing it.
• 22:44
  I have heard that like as a subtext through everything you've said. Yeah.
• 22:48
  That is good. So if there is one thing you want somebody to take away from our
• 22:52
  conversation today, what would that be?
• 22:55
  You know, I think the biggest thing I learned is to keep fighting for your health.
• 22:59
  You know, there is an answer out there. why you're experiencing what you're
• 23:03
  experiencing. You just have to dig deeper.
• 23:05
  You know, find someone that you resonate with that can help you.
• 23:09
  Don't settle if it doesn't feel right.
• 23:13
  Yes, yes. So if somebody wants to connect with you, where is the best place for them to find you?
• 23:19
  Yeah, I'm active on Instagram at ElizabethTaylorWellness. And then my website
• 23:24
  is ElizabethTaylorWellness.com.
• 23:26
  And, you know, I just, I love talking to people, helping people.
• 23:30
  So I would love to connect.
• 23:32
  Perfect. And I'll have those links down in the show notes. Thank you so much
• 23:36
  for joining the Health with Hashimoto's podcast today and for all of the wisdom
• 23:40
  and the guidance that you shared today. Thank you. Thanks for having me.
• 23:45
  This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.
• 23:49
  Please discuss any concerns and plans with your trusted healthcare professional.
• 23:53
  If you found this episode helpful, will you please share it with a friend?
• 23:56
  I'll see you next week on the Health with Hashimoto's podcast.
• 24:00
  Music.