I’m back! and finally feeling like myself again!

It’s been a while since I last shared a real update here, and I’m so happy to say: I’m back. The past few years have been about learning, healing, and self-discovery, and I now feel ready to share my journey.

My three-year journey on the carnivore diet

A few years ago, I began following the Carnivore Diet in hopes of finding relief from the chronic health issues that had been affecting me for years. At first, the results were amazing! I had more energy than I’d felt in years.

About a month in, I experienced my first severe oxalate dumping cycle, which included hives and other unusual symptoms. I noticed a pattern: after each dumping phase, I felt exhausted, foggy, and inflamed, but then I would recover. I had cloudy urine, dry eyes, and the eczema on my ankles would return.

Even with those ups and downs, I still felt far better than I had on a paleo diet, so I stayed with it. My digestion improved, my inflammation decreased, and many long-standing problems disappeared. I no longer got Bartholin cysts, pinworms, or constant UTIs. My toenail fungus cleared on its own, and my skin stayed clear. Even a strange symptom I’d had for years, hyperkeratosis on my fingertips near my nails, completely went away.

The benefits were undeniable. Still, I couldn’t quite stabilize my weight, and my energy and focus weren’t always as consistent as I wanted. I knew there was more work to do to truly get to the root of what my body needed.

Discovering healing through applied kinesiology

My first real breakthrough came when I began working with an applied kinesiologist. Through muscle testing, she identified foods and supplements that supported me and those that didn’t. In many cases, it was surprising!

I learned I was deeply mineral deficient (connected to oxalate overload?), and that I wasn’t tolerating certain meats I had relied on like pork, white fish, and even chicken. Over time, with her guidance, my body began to rebalance. Now I can enjoy chicken and fish again, though pork is still off the list. (That said, I no longer eat either very often.)

She also helped me address emotional issues from the past, which turned out to have a major physical impact. I never expected emotional work to influence my body so strongly, but it’s been one of the most powerful parts of my healing.

Emotional healing through Chinese medicine and acupuncture

When I first started seeing my Chinese medicine and acupuncture expert, I had already made some progress thanks to the kinesiology work I’d been doing. Still, I felt pretty delicate and wasn’t quite back to normal yet. I cried through my first few appointments: a mix of relief, exhaustion, and release.

Since then, she’s helped me support my liver, thyroid, and adrenals, work on my excess “humidity,” and restore energetic balance. She also taught me daily lymph-drainage techniques, which I now do each morning to keep things moving gently.

That combination of physical and emotional care has been life-changing.

What I’ve learned from testing

I ran several tests to better understand the situation before starting with the acupuncturist and kinesiologist.

• I ran blood tests that showed high homocysteine, low hemoglobin, and high cholesterol, indicating possible methylation and nutrient absorption problems. They also highlighted thyroid issues: low conversion of T4 to T3 and slightly high reverse T3 levels. This suggests I have subclinical hypothyroidism, even if the results are within the normal range.
• My seven-point cortisol saliva test came back showing a flat cortisol curve. My cortisol levels went up a bit in the middle of the morning when they should go down. Then they dropped, but still ended up being higher than normal at night. This explains why I often feel alert at night when I want to rest.
• A hair mineral analysis showed elevated heavy metals like lead mercury, and even arsenic! I, again, showed low copper in this analysis.

Altogether, the results showed mineral depletion, thyroid slowdown, and adrenal stress. It’s mostly what I expected, but it was good to have some validation.

Supporting my body with minerals and gentle detox

To get my nutrient levels back up and help my body detox, I’ve been trying out some simple, food-based solutions. Instead of looking for quick fixes, I’m focusing on keeping my minerals balanced and making sure I’m taking care of myself the right way.

I take Irish sea moss for its natural minerals and a whole-food heavy metal detox blend that includes spirulina, dulse seaweed (which provides natural iodine), cilantro, wild blueberries, and barley grass juice. I also use Bach flower remedies that are customized each month to support my emotions.

The Root Cause Protocol focuses on bringing everything back into balance by adding key minerals like copper and magnesium. It also suggests that you should avoid synthetic vitamins C and D. The thought behind it is that if your vitamin D levels are low, it is likely due to a mineral imbalance rather than a true deficiency. So, based on that, I’ve been trying to boost my copper levels since my blood tests and hair analysis showed I was low on it.

Each morning, I support my adrenals with an adrenal cocktail made from potassium, natural salt, and acerola powder for whole-food vitamin C. I also get a little extra iodine naturally through the dulse in my detox blend.

As recommended by my practitioners, I take magnesium bisglycinate daily. I’ve returned to taking two Primal Queen tablets a day, as I tested well for them.

My blood tests showed low vitamin D, but I’m not taking synthetic vitamin D or vitamin C. During the COVID years, I took high doses of both as recommended by many natural health practitioners. That’s actually when I began to notice some of my major health issues starting to get worse. I found out later that taking high doses of vitamin C can lead to or worsen oxalate problems, which probably made my situation worse. Now, I focus on getting nutrients from real food and gentle, regular sun exposure instead.

Along with those minerals, I’ve kept a few core habits and products that truly make a difference:

• Goddess Bites (creatine) for muscle and mental clarity
• Gentle daily movement: walks, stretching, and sunshine
• Ongoing emotional work and stress reduction
• Occasional infrared sauna sessions

These small routines keep me balanced; not perfect, but steadily improving.

Adding foods back: slowly and seasonally

I’m slowly bringing back foods, just one at a time. So far, I’ve added back fresh pomegranates from our garden and pumpkin, both of which have made me feel fine. (My first attempt at a vegetable soup backfired, and I later found that I tested poorly for carrots and celery!)

I’m still pretty much focused on meat, especially red meat, as the main part of my meals. But I’m starting to mix in some variety, adding some color and just having more fun with my food.

Healing from the inside out

Putting it all together, I’m finally starting to feel like myself again!

I’m feeling more energized, my mind’s a lot clearer, and my creativity is coming back, which means I’m really looking forward to diving back into creating and sharing here again!

Healing hasn’t been quick or linear, but it’s been profoundly worth it.

What’s next?

In the coming weeks, I’ll share more about what I’ve learned, from balancing minerals to gentle detox and emotional healing. If you’ve been on your own journey toward better health, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

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