Are You Asking the Right Questions?

We get it.  You’ve done everything.  You’ve been everywhere.  You’ve seen everyone.  Yet, STILL you have symptoms that you just can’t figure out.  You just don’t know if you have any more OPTIONS.

Here’s the thing.  I don’t think you’re not asking for help.  I think you just might not be ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. 

Let me tell you a story.  My husband cares about my day.  About me, in every day.  He wants to be part of the goods and the bads, and know how he can help.  But when I was going through a really low slump (if you know my story, you’ll know some of these slumps) and he would ask me “How was your day?”, I didn’t find it helpful.  I wasn’t upset with HIM, but that I didn’t want to keep saying every day, “Well, it really was awful.  Hold me and make it better.”  It just made me think about all the ways that I was hurt, scared, fearful, etc.  So I said, “Let’s make a pact.  When we ask about each other’s days, let’s instead say, ‘What went well in your day?’”  I know it sounds like it’s splitting hairs, but your brain listens to this kind of difference.  It shifts the brain from finding what’s wrong to finding what’s right.  The kind of question makes all the difference. 

I remember a client that I worked with years ago.  She was definitely the “natural” type, and liked to employ everything that would assist her in having the best healthy life possible.  So it was surprising to her that despite all of her efforts she was still dealing with chronic sinus and morning phlegm that was really a burden for her. 

She wasn’t getting any help and had been to ear nose and throat specialists and her primary care practitioner and allergy specialists as well. 

I pride myself on providing the “gaps” between conventional medical care and naturopathy.  In this case, just like the arrangement I made with my husband, I ask my brain to think differently.  It looks for something like this question:  “If answers haven’t come with what’s currently been done, and they haven’t.  How can I ask the question differently?” 

I like the challenge question that hits the right “spark” that makes my clients think differently.

My question for this particular client was, “What if it has nothing to do with any of those?”  I could see this made her think. 

Here’s the thing:  When I deal so heavily in inflammation and natural solutions for chronic illness, she wasn’t wrong.  To look for allergy type things made sense.  But she wasn’t getting anywhere, so why beat the same bush?  If something is chronic and lymphatic is continuously burdened, there must be something that continues to create a rejection and a protection.  See, one primary job of the lymphatic system is like a waste water movement system, so bacteria and toxins can get OUT.  In someone whose system can’t seem to turn off the valve, we look to what could be keeping the “valve” stuck open. 

She needed options and she needed to have someone walk her through them to find the right one for her.  My question just opened the door that there possibly WERE other options. 

She followed the open door and it made her say, “you know right around the time that all this started, there WAS this thing with my teeth.  I had a root canal…..” And we were off and running.

Let’s talk about why this dental problem two years ago could have anything to do with her current sinus and lymphatic problems. 

How Dental Affects Whole Body Health

Oral inflammation can trigger systemic inflammation through a process known as the "oral-systemic connection." Here's how it works:

Inflammatory cytokines: Inflammation in the gums or other tissues of the mouth can produce inflammatory cytokines, which are signaling molecules that can travel throughout the body and trigger inflammation in other organs and tissues.

Bacterial translocation: Bacteria from the mouth can enter the bloodstream and travel to other parts of the body, triggering an immune response that leads to inflammation. This can happen in individuals with periodontal disease, where the gums are chronically inflamed and bacteria can enter the bloodstream through the damaged tissue.

Immune activation: Chronic oral inflammation can also activate the immune system, leading to the production of pro-inflammatory proteins that can travel throughout the body and contribute to systemic inflammation.

Systemic Inflammation

Systemic inflammation can contribute to the development of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis. By maintaining good oral health and managing any existing oral infections or inflammation, it's possible to reduce the risk of systemic inflammation and its associated health problems.  Of course, my suggestions for good oral health stem from a natural perspective and we recommend the use of oral tooth powders and microbiome rebuilding at our clinic.

Sure enough, she had an option that made sense for her.  I helped her find the right resources and it turns out the dentist said, thankfully you got this taken care of.  There was so much infection behind this tooth!  Now I know, the next question is why it couldn’t be seen on xray. 

Dental Problems Impair Detoxification

The next problem that correlates to this client and possibly for many of you is the fact that dental problems can impair the body’s natural detoxification systems.

This could be through:

Impaired digestion: Dental problems such as missing or damaged teeth can make it difficult to chew and digest food properly. This can lead to poor nutrient absorption and a buildup of toxins in the body.

Infection and inflammation: Chronic infections in the mouth, such as gum disease, can cause chronic inflammation that can interfere with the body's ability to detoxify. Inflammation can impair the functioning of the liver, which plays a key role in detoxification, and lead to the buildup of toxins in the body.

Mercury fillings: Dental amalgam fillings contain mercury, a toxic heavy metal that can accumulate in the body over time. Overexposure to mercury can impair the body's ability to detoxify, leading to a range of health problems.

Root canals: Root canals are a common dental procedure that involves removing infected tissue from the root of a tooth. However, some experts suggest that root canals can harbor bacteria and toxins that can contribute to chronic illness.

Our natural health and wellness clinic in Little Falls, MN promotes detoxification strategies that are natural, safe and gentle.  We believe it is important that people have options.  Some of these options could look like:

·        Having thermography of the head and neck to see where potential inflammation is in the mouth, teeth, and lymph

·        Shopping our dental tooth powders and oral microbiome supports

·        Using our therapy bay for relaxing detoxifying therapies like sauna, far infrared, chromatherapy and lymphatic pressotherapy.

This is right for those who are having trouble, AND those who are not.  If you’ve followed me long enough, you’ll know that I’m all about what you do “in between”.  From check up to check up, what you’ve done in between is what’s going to determine the outcome of your health.  NOT having issues is the BEST time to do therapeutic strategies, and regularly.  When you teach a child to read, you don’t just do it once, you send him to school every day so that he can build his skill.  It’s the same with our health.  It needs to be built in the every day.  My question, then for YOU is:  What outcome are you planning and working towards?  Are your current habits going to get you there?

When something hasn’t been working, it doesn’t mean it WON’T.  You just might be looking at the wrong questions.

To begin, you might want to set a Discovery Consultation so that you can ask all the questions you want! Or set a Dental Bioenergetics Assessment now!

Check out our store, or email Jess if you want help getting ahold of a good oral cleansing strategy for you. 

 Amanda Plevell, PhD, MSCN, NMD, CNHP is a Board Certified Natural Medicine Practitioner and Clinical Nutritionist. Together with ANMC’s team of support professionals, she’s bringing the pieces of nutrition, the mind, and therapeutic ongoing relationships to the healthcare continuum. ANMC combines curated education programs with personalized plans that make it easy for anyone, anywhere to benefit from.  Find out more here:  anmcholistichealth.com

“Our unique offer fills in the gaps to complete your picture and provides a powerful therapeutic relationship for a complete whole health solution, because I know that our clients want to have all the pieces, education, and trust so that they can make informed decisions for themselves.”