“I do not want the peace which passeth understanding.
I want the understanding which bringeth peace. ”
~ Helen Keller
The Search
Finding a healthcare team that understands “food is medicine” can be as hard as finding Waldo in the famous children’s book series. Thankfully, there are a growing number of directories to help:
Paleo Functional Medicine Practitioner Directories
- First, read this: How to Find a Good Functional Medicine Practitioner. Then, check out the directories below.
- Re-Find Health – Healthcare practitioners with an evolutionary approach to health and nutrition.
- Paleo-Friendly MDs – A list of autoimmune specialists (rheumatologists, gastroenterologists, endocrinologists, etc.) who are open to diet and lifestyle as a complementary approach.
- AIP Certified Coaches – Health coaches, nutritionists, and functional medicine practitioners who have been trained on the paleo autoimmune protocol.
- Wahls Certified Health Professionals – Professionals from a wide variety of disciplines who have been trained in the Wahls Protocol.
- Certified GAPS Practitioners – Available to consult by phone or email, these experts have been trained on “difficult” cases and how best to personalize the GAPS diet for full healing.
- My Podcasts also feature expert interviews with practitioners who work with people worldwide via Skype. Check out my show archives to see if one of my guests seems like a perfect fit for you.
Would You Like to Become a Practitioner Yourself?
- My favorite health coach training: The Kresser Institute ADAPT Health Coach Program
- My favorite nutritionist training: Functional Nutrition Alliance Full Body Systems
- My favorite functional medicine training: Kresser Institute for Functional and Evolutionary Medicine
- Continuing education focused on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol: AIP Certified Coach
- Continuing education focused on the Wahls Protocol: Wahls Certified Health Professional
Self Help vs. Getting Help
Many people start a healing diet and lifestyle on their own, and the internet is an incredible resource for information and peer support. Paleo guru Mark Sisson calls this the n=1 experiment (where we test something out on ourselves and see if we feel better or worse.) For people in relatively good health, there’s minimal risk and often optimal benefit. For people with autoimmune disease, it can be complicated. (Don’t we know it!)
What if you’re following one of the healing diets without cheats, and you’re not getting any better? You’re starting to hate those overnight success stories and scouring your symptom journal for any sign of improvement. Maybe it’s time to seek professional help. Dr. Terry Wahls actually lists this as Phase 4 of her protocol. Here’s what she said in our interview:
“Everyone is unique. We’re an overlaying of swiss cheeses, and our holes need to line up perfectly for autoimmunity to get triggered. A functional medicine practitioner can help you identify your holes. For some people, lead poisoning might be a primary driver, or there may be a co-infection of Hep C, or a genetic vulnerability that affects your B vitamin pathways. There are infinite possibilities. The vast majority of folks will experience some level of improvement on the Wahls Protocol™, but there will be some that feel they haven’t been helped. Those people will likely need to tease out the complicated factors unique to their situation by seeing a doctor trained in functional medicine, to do an evaluation and devise a personalized protocol in order to heal.” – Dr. Terry Wahls
Finding professional help might be the difference between feeling better now vs. going through years of self-experimentation. If you aren’t getting better, please access one of the resources listed above.
***
A little boy was having difficulty lifting a heavy stone.
His father came along just then.
Noting the boy’s failure, he asked, “Are you using all your strength?”
“Yes, I am,” the little boy said impatiently.
“No, you are not,” the father answered.
“I am right here just waiting, and you haven’t asked me to help you.”
***
You May Also Be Interested In
The GAPS practitioners link doesn’t work. And the Perfect Health Retreats are on hold for two years while they focus on their cancer patients.
Thanks for helping me keep my website up-to-date, Leslie! I really appreciate it. I’ve updated the GAPS practitioner link and removed Perfect Health Retreats from the list.
Hi Eileen, my homeopath/iridologist wants to see a study on aloe vera and why it is not good for somebody with an autoimmune condition. She would like me to take it for my intestinal ulcer. She also wants me to eat ground flaxseeds which I have not yet reintroduced. Can you please enlighten me on these two items. Thanks , Connie
Hi Connie. Whenever you’re looking for scientific studies, just do a search in Pubmed. In fact, your homeopath can do that themselves if they’re interested. Aloe vera isn’t allowed during the elimination phase of the AIP because it’s an immune stimulant and can therefore increase autoimmune symptoms in some people. However, your practitioner is right that it can also be helpful with ulcers. This is true of many beneficial herbs and botanicals. They affect us all uniquely. When it comes to the AIP, you want to be strict during the elimination phase, but when it comes to reintroductions, that’s when you experiment and build the healing template that works best for you. If you’re ready, you can certainly try reintroducing both the aloe vera and the flax seed and see how your body responds. Just be sure to only reintroduce one of those at a time, so you can see their clear effects – positive, neutral or negative. Here’s a quick overview of the reintroduction steps. I also have an ebook that’s a more complete guide to the process.
Thanks Eileen, I do have your ebook on how to reintroduce and will follow the steps for the aloe vera and flax. I know I have to do it
slowly and one food at a time.
I’m at the point where I’ve been doing this for 2 years – currently been on AIP for a month plus keeping the biggest FODMAPS out of my diet as I could literally feel things fermenting in my gut after I starting doing lots of garlic, onion and starch at the beginning of AIP. I’m feeling better overall on AIP than before it but still having a lot of symptoms – especially new weird ones. The problem is that right now all my money goes to the food that keeps me functioning well enough to keep my job – which means no health insurance or money to go to consultants… I like playing Sherlock with my own body for the most part, but I’m starting to feel like giving up. It’s frustrating that a lot of the helpful data I’m probably missing would all come from outrageously expensive tests (for my budget at least).
Do you have any recommendations for troubleshooting on a tight budget?
Hi Rebecca. You’re right that there’s a wide range of costs when it comes to functional medicine practitioners. One of the things I do on my podcasts, is ask practitioners for their Top 3 Test Recommendations. I think that helps people prioritize and not totally break the bank on unnecessary tests and treatments. A lot of them also offer a free 15 minute consult, so you could tell them your symptoms and they could recommend which test to do first. You can also order the tests they recommend online through Directlabs.com, which is often much cheaper than going through a physician.
Start by listening to this podcast: What Is Functional Medicine. The practitioner is Anne Angelone, and she works through The Paleo Mom Consulting.
Another great practitioner is Katy Haldiman aka The Paleo Nurse. And I interviewed her on the podcast, Health and Nutrition Coaching.
And a third is Christopher Kelly from Nourish Balance Thrive. I interviewed him on a recent podcast about Adrenal Fatigue.
Take some time to listen to those episodes. You’ll get some free information, and also a sense for each practitioner. Then set up a free consult with the one who you feel is a good fit for you personally. If any test seems outside your budget, I recommend starting saving a little money every week, until you can afford the first one. From what you wrote, it sounds like you do need some troubleshooting, and the right test can hopefully get you on the path to healing.
Thank you so much, this is really helpful! 🙂 I’ll check them out.
My husband and I already eat clean,home prepared foods.I am typical, been diagnosed for that last 40 years with whatever the fad syndrome of the decade is.I believe that I have autoimmune issues, take synthroid, but I need to know what tests to start with to understand what we are working with.I have TSH tests done twice a year.I would also like to find someone to help me go through the process.I live in Omaha, Nebraska.
Sally, if you want to find someone local, look in the Primal Docs or Paleo Physicians directory. If you’re comfortable with working with someone over Skype, I recommend The Paleo Mom Consulting.
I agree completely! Thank you for sharing this on Wildcrafting Wednesday!
Great resource, love the quote!
Thanks for sharing this, Eileen. Gong to check out that first link you provided. 🙂