Why Doctors and nutritionists should collaborate!

This is a testimonial from a client:  
Before going to Kerri I had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism for five plus years. At this point in my life I felt sick every day. I was tired all the time, I had achy joints, and stomach discomfort. I started going to Kerri and we did some blood tests and found out that I had antibodies to my thyroid, the antibodies were extremely high. She immediately adjusted my diet and told me what to incorporate and what to avoid. I followed her instructions and in 4 months that number had decreased more than half, I lost 18 pounds and my cholesterol went down about 40 points. I feel better now than I have felt in 5 years! I am so thankful to Kerri, she is dedicated to helping others get well. After my sessions with her were complete, if I had questions she would answer them right away. I felt secure knowing that she was a text or an email away. I am encouraged to keep going on this journey to complete health and well being thanks to Kerri.  ~ Angela G.
 
 
I feel that the above testimonial illustrates why doctors and nutritionists should work together more frequently.   Doctors have expertise in diagnosing and treating medical conditions and use medications to manage their patient’s diseases.  However, nutritionists can support the work that they do by helping their patients with nutrition and lifestyle modifications. 
​Together, we can help our customers achieve better health outcomes!
 
The above client was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, the doctor suspected it was Hashimoto’s, but did not do the additional testing to verify since about 80% of hypothyroid cases are autoimmune.  Since doctors treat both conditions similarly, it is not essential for them to conduct antibody testing. 
 
In the nutrition world we take a different approach.  First and foremost,  we don’t treat disease, we support the underlying causes.  When a client comes in with a thyroid diagnosis and has their bloodwork, we functionally look at these results. If only the TSH was tested, we can do further testing that includes testing for antibodies.  This is important because now we have more information, and can support the body systems appropriately.   
 
For hypothyroid, the approach is to support the thyroid.  We may incorporate foods sources of selenium or iodine for example.  But Hashimoto’s is different.  There is an immune system response so our focus shifts to supporting and modulating an overactive immune system, and reducing overall inflammation.   
 
Doctors go through extensive training to learn to diagnose and treat diseases.  I respect their work and I work with a few doctors that refer their patients to me because they understand the crucial role nutrition plays in overall health.  Doctors are typically not taught much nutrition in their education and often once their schooling is completed, they lack the time to dive deep into nutrition science due to their demanding schedules.  This is where we, nutritionists, can step in and fill a gap.  This is our area of expertise and we can completement their work.   
 
Angela’s case is a perfect one to highlight.  Even though she was being medically treated, she still felt terrible and struggled for five years.  By incorporating diet and lifestyle changes, she was able to experience significant improvement and feel better within just four months!