To Help Someone New with Something New

Summary

A nutrition expert outlines a two-pronged approach to assist a client with Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI), focusing on medication adherence and nutritional guidance to manage the condition effectively.

Abstract

The article details the experience of a nutrition expert who was approached by a woman seeking help for her EPI, a condition where the pancreas fails to produce essential digestive enzymes. The expert, whose sub-specialty is insulin dysfunction and has experience in reversing various health conditions, initially questioned how she could assist with a non-reversible condition like EPI. She devised a plan to help the client adhere to her enzyme-triggering medication regimen and to optimize her dietary intake, ensuring proper nutrient absorption and overall well-being. The expert emphasizes the importance of structured medication timing and a well-planned nutritional strategy, utilizing her knowledge of foods, hormones, and brain chemistry to maintain the client's health and vitality.

Opinions

The author acknowledges the challenge of working with a condition outside her usual scope of practice but is confident in her ability to provide structured support.
She believes in the power of proper nutrition and medication adherence as key factors in managing chronic health conditions.
The nutrition expert values the transformation and improvement in her clients' health, taking pride in the positive outcomes of her guidance.
She encourages individuals with health issues not to suffer unnecessarily and to seek professional nutritional advice that can lead to significant health improvements through simple dietary changes.
The author is passionate about her work, as evidenced by her excitement over the transformations she witnesses in her clients.

I found myself wondering how — or even if — I could help this client

Just recently, a woman contacted me about helping her with a medical condition called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). Here’s a very brief account.

In EPI, the pancreas does not produce the enzymes necessary for digestion and absorption of foods. The missing enzymes are lipase, amylase and protease, needed to process fats, carbs and proteins.

The resulting problems with digestion and absorption lead in turn to serious problems: severe weight loss, fatty stools, malnutrition, low energy, and more. Since people with EPI have difficulty absorbing fats, they easily become deficient in the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.

EPI can be a result of cystic fibrosis, Crohn’s, diabetes, celiac disease, chronic pancreatitis, or even surgery that partially removes the pancreas.

Never had I worked with a client who had this problem, so I immediately researched the condition, even before the woman and I spoke on the phone. It turns out that EPI is not reversible, not curable, and the patient needs to take enzyme-triggering meds with every meal.

Now, my sub-specialty is in insulin dysfunction, and many of my clients have been able to reverse metabolic syndrome, comprising several health conditions.

Over the years, I’ve been asked for my help with CIDP (chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy), ADHD, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, and athletic performance. I’ve also helped clients reverse such issues as anxiety, depression, and mood swings.

Because my orientation is to work with foods to reverse the effects of medical conditions, I found myself wondering how — or even if — I could help this woman with EPI.

I devised a sensible solution that would allow me to offer help on 2 tracks:

1. Help her stay structured and systematic in handling the medications as directed. This may sound like a no-brainer, but it wasn’t really. She’d just started the meds but was already playing fast and loose with their administration, taking them sometimes before, sometimes during, and sometimes after her meal. It had already backfired and left her feeling awful.

2. Help her with the nutrition content and structure of her meals and snacks, using what I know about foods, hormones and brain chem, to get — and even more importantly — keep her stable, alert, active, healthy and feeling great.

This concrete solution seems obvious now, and I knew it would help her.

Even more than the challenge or the thank-you notes I’ve received from clients’ doctors, I love the transformations I see in my clients.

Got health problems? Don’t suffer needlessly! Instead, visit LastResortNutrition.com and request your Make Me Healthy consult. Find out how easy it can be to make simple food shifts that can mean big results for your health.

Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar.