The Truth About Birth Control Pills that No Doctor Ever Tells You

Intro: Welcome to the Ask Dr. Boyd podcast where we ask real patients from our practice real questions to help you. We talk about hormones, we talk about longevity medicine, we talk about functional medicine. We hope you enjoy the episode. In this episode of Ask Dr. Boyd, we talked to Catalina. We talked about type 2 diabetes. We talked about gut health. We talked about nutrition. Let's get into it.

Catalina Tate: So, hey Dr. Boyd. Well, my name is Catalina Tate and I am 62 and I came to see you because I just been feeling super super tired and you talked with me about some testing and I have not done it yet. So, just wanted to do that, right? And so, that's the reason that I came.

Dr. Boyd: Okay. All right. Well, welcome. Thank you for being here. So, ask Dr. Boyd. So uh you're here and uh so you came initially to see me because of fatigue.

Catalina Tate: Yes.

Dr. Boyd: And uh can when we talk about fatigue that is that's a huge umbrella. And uh what do you mean specifically when you say fatigue?

Catalina Tate: So I was feeling really um overwhelmingly tired especially after my midday meal. It was like I had to lay down. My body was screaming to me, you have to lay down and and that is not normal for me. I am pretty active and so yeah, so that's what prompted me to really seek some answers to it.

Dr. Boyd: So fatigue, you're moving along with your life, your late 50s, maybe you're noticing you're you're slowing down a little bit and you get into your early 60s and all of a sudden it smacks you in the face. Oh my word, I need to figure out where I can lay down and take a nap in the middle of the afternoon and it it can be overwhelming. Uh it can affect your work and and it can affect your life, it can affect your health. And so coming to see me for that, were you nervous about uh that that something was wrong? Were you nervous about uh that you had something wrong with you? What was your initial thoughts with uh the fatigue issue?

Catalina Tate: For once, I have type two diabetes and so even though my glucose levels have been on kind of the normal side, uh I think that the insulin's resistance was pretty high and I knew that just because reading and symptoms relating and so when you actually said for us to do some specific testing, I thought it was pretty accurate to do it. And so that is um when I came and then so one of my questions actually related uh for for you just kind of to explain to people is functional medicine does some specific testing that leads to diagnosis different than the regular or conventional medicine. So maybe if you want to explain what are these tests that you do different and the reason behind it.

Dr. Boyd: So fatigue is a is a huge umbrella like we like we talked about and you know sometimes in traditional medicine when a person comes in they have a very specific thought of why they're fatigued. Uh my diabetes is acting up, my thyroid is acting up. And often times in traditional medicine the doctor takes you down that pathway but doesn't investigate other thoughts or other reasons for fatigue. And so Epiphany is a functional medicine practice and and it's lifestyle, diet, and activity. So when we look at you, we're trying to figure out uh what is your lifestyle that creates fatigue? What is your diet that creates fatigue? And what is your activity that creates fatigue? Any or all all three of those. And that leads us when we do your history into specific testing. And so we know that hormonal imbalance, whether it's testosterone and estrogen, whether it's your thyroid, whether it's your cortisol, uh adrenal hormone, whether it's your insulin, those all drive fatigue. And so we need to look at those globally. And so we order a very specific panel of testing including testosterone and estrogen, sex hormone binding globulin. We check for the entire thyroid panel uh more than which is which is a bigger panel than than traditional medicine does. Uh we check for DHEA which is one of the ad other adrenal hormones other than cortisol. We also check for micronutrients copper and magnesium uh zinc. Uh those can all play a role in how your body overall is operating. and and so putting those all together, we need a big picture and and those labs will help us in the clinical decision making based on your history of how we manage you.

Catalina Tate: Mhm. So basically what you're saying is that there are some tests that are specifics to figure out areas that need attention so that the body is not working together. I will say because there is connection between every organ, right? And so you as a functional doctor you see the whole body as a whole and also you connect the diet and the exercise. So will you say that working with you as a functional doctor also has to help us uh your patients to see this as a change in the lifestyle as an embracing a different lifestyle. It's not just for a treatment moment is for the rest of your life. Will you say that?

Dr. Boyd: I would and so so I love the the question. Your question basically is a longevity question. Uh traditional medicine is set up so that it's a disease-oriented format. That means you get sick, you see the doctor and he takes care of whatever he diagnoses your problem. Functional medicine looks at you as a temple and we know that temple has 30 trillion cells that need to be in sync working together to keep you healthy. I don't change the day you die, but I am encourage I I do encourage a health model that's going to keep you healthy until the day you die. Age Healthier, Live Health Happier is a book that we frequently recommend to patients by Gary Donaldson. Uh and and we love that title. age healthier, live happier. Because as you age, right now at 70 years old, the average American is is is three to five chronic illnesses and is on 10 to 15 different medications, polypharmacy. And so, how do we prevent you from doing that? And it's and again, you you mentioned lifestyle, lifestyle, diet, and activity. Those three have to work in concert with each other to keep you healthy until that day that you die. And so longevity medicine or regenerative medicine also has three uh pillars that we follow. Hormone optimization. And if we don't optimize your hormones, you can never have longevity. Preventive health care is the second uh uh column in longevity medicine and then nutritional counseling and it's interesting you are food has been your passion in an educational standpoint for food has been very important for you educationally and as a career for the past 30 years. Correct.

Catalina Tate: Yeah.

Dr. Boyd: Uh you you just explain to me what you've done for the past 30 years.

Catalina Tate: Well, um I've I am a nutritionist by education. And so I think that uh food is really important not only for the pleasure that food brings but also for uh building our body in a healthy way, you know. Um but it is um somewhat sarcastic that here I am knowing all of that but still I do have a a diagnosis that is fully related with diet. Uh, not only that, but you know,

Dr. Boyd: and your diagnosis is what?

Catalina Tate: So, I have type two diabetes,

Dr. Boyd: right? And I love taking care of you and I love the fact that we're we're talking like this. If I if I may so be so bold, you you were very discouraged uh as a nutritionist for 30 years. You followed the traditional educational format uh the the pyramid we call it in nutrition for the past 30 years. And and so food, you need it for your existence, you need it for pleasure with community, and you need it from an educational standpoint educating other patients. And so when you ended up with the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, it was very difficult. You look at you, you're you're healthy, you're not overweight, you exercise. So why did I why did you develop type 2 diabetes? Um that was a real struggle for you.

Catalina Tate: Yeah. Yeah. Well, and there is still not a full answer to it. Um you mentioned one time uh that it could be also genetically related and it could be stress related and so in functional medicine I know that you address also those things like trying to reduce inflammation in the body. So one thing that it was very interesting for me just learning about that and also the thyroid function is that uh the levels of stress that we manage whether we feel that oh I think I'm okay with my level of stress or not the body actually um tells you otherwise right and even with passing of years the body says no you're not doing right right and so um just changing little things in the lifestyle, learning to manage the stress, right? Learning to get better sleep, too.

Dr. Boyd: Yes.

Catalina Tate: Better hours of sleep, taking enough liquids, enough of water during the day.

Dr. Boyd: Yes.

Catalina Tate: And then um I mean though all of those things can really help with improving health, right?

Dr. Boyd: So, we'll use exactly what you said and kind of explain the the the circle that happens for so many people. Cortisol is is an adrenal hormone. Your adrenal gland is a small gland back by your kidney. And the purpose of cortisol is for really one purpose, fight or flight. And so bad man is coming at you, you either fight him or you run. But it should be an isolated very uh from a time standpoint once the event is over your cortisol should decrease. You in knowing you, you do not seem like you're an excitable person. You do not seem like you're dramatic. Now, even though you're Latino, uh, and and and and they can be dramatic in in in in talking to you, you do not seem that way, but that doesn't mean that internally you don't have high levels of cortisol. Cortisol drives insulin. And so, if you have been stressed for a number of years, that causes elevations of your insulin. Insulin over time then is becomes resistant to your body. Remember, insulin's purpose is to open the cell door to allow the what you put in your mouth to go inside the cell and give your cell nutrition. The higher the insulin, the longer the cell door stays open, that means obesity becomes a problem. Now, you're not obese, but what happens is if your insulin remained high because of elevated cortisol over time, you develop resistance to your insulin. And that then prevented the insulin that's supposed to keep your blood sugar down. If it's resistant, that means your blood sugar increased in in numbers. And then you reached that critical point where I diagnosed you with type 2 diabetes. And that was a sobering moment for you because you again you've had nutrition as your background. Um, like you and I've talked about, you love your fruits, your vegetables. Uh, but as you as we've talked about, those are also a sugar. Those are also a carbohydrate. And and the incredible thing is if you don't burn those with within 1 hour, often times those become fat for many many people. And so that that has been very interesting and and a real struggle for you. Why me? And so we talked about genetics. There's there's another word called epigenetics which means that the body uh u realizes environmentally u that there's a problem and and turns that or that gene gets turned on and and and that may be what's what happened with you and so uh yeah it's been it's been a challenge for you.

Catalina Tate: Yeah. So I have a question. Um what is the relationship in between the gut health because we hear all a lot of um doctors and talking about gut health resistance to the insulin and the thyroid function and uh I understand they are very closely related but like for the benefit of those that are hearing this podcast how will you explain like in easy words so that someone can understand understand that.

Dr. Boyd: So, the gut, everybody knows when they think of the gut, they they they know they're talking about their intestines inside their stomach. And and and the word stomach means their abdominal cavity. You know, it's interesting. Your your your GI system, your entire system starts at your mouth and ends in your anus. There's approximately 32 feet of intestine inside our body. There's good bacteria, there's bad bacteria, and that and and optimally we want the good bacteria to equal the bad bacteria. And uh but what happens in life because of plastics and toxins uh the gut that uh is supposed to prevent when we swallow something, it's supposed to prevent those bad things from coming in, the plastics and and the heavy metals and the antibiotics. So you end up with a breach, a hole in the in the air, in the little tiny uh cells that allow the bad stuff to come in. When that happens, then that can cause overall inflammation and changes in gut health. The good bacteria then become deficient. The bad bacteria uh elevate and that then creates a this this gaseous situation with inflammation inside the colon. When that happens, it elevates cortisol.

Catalina Tate: So just a question.

Dr. Boyd: Yes.

Catalina Tate: So when you say this inflammation inside the colon, what is the name to it? So like for people that is listening to this podcast, how do they what is that they are diagnosed with referring to this inflammation? What are some of the names that they hear?

Dr. Boyd: Irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, just to to name to name a few. uh chronic gastritis which is inflammation of of the esophagus as it enters the stomach. So the bottom part of so you swallow food it goes down your esophagus your esophagus enters the stomach and there's a valve there and so you can get inflammation of the stomach that's the gastritis itis means inflammation and you can get esophagitis so people can have reflux and then they end up on medications uh called PPIs uh and and the PPIs then uh of they're supposed to be only used for two weeks people use them for years and u they're associated with Alzheimer's dementia um in several studies and so that gut health so again esophagitis gastritis that's an inflammatory condition uh colitis is inflammation of the colon and uh uh all all the way through

Catalina Tate: you say the irritable bowel syndrome also right

Dr. Boyd: yes

Catalina Tate: and so when people hear those things they can now say oh so my digestive is inflamed.

Dr. Boyd: That's correct.

Catalina Tate: And so the word inflammation sounds very mild generally speaking. But will you actually give it the reality of the weight like we want people to understand that inflammation is not something mild. We have to you we have to watch and we have to actually reduce the inflammation. What will you say about that?

Dr. Boyd: I agree with you. The word inflammation sounds fairly mild. And I'm going to give just two examples of how dramatic that they can be. So if we take our hand and put it on a hot stove for one second, if the stove's 300°, one second, we pull our hand off and our hand is burned and it feels it throbs. You may even get blisters on them and for two or three or four days, our hand is is is uncomfortable.

Catalina Tate: Don't touch.

Dr. Boyd: Yeah, don't touch. Right. That's inflammation. A little tiny splinter. Everybody's had one. We get them in our toe, get them in our fingers. I mean, you think about it. It's a millimeter or two or a little piece of glass.

Catalina Tate: Mhm.

Dr. Boyd: And your finger hurts, it aches, it's red. You touch it, it hurts, and you get your tweezers out to try to remove it. That's an inflammatory condition. So, let's assume in the body you have 30 trillion cells. We've got all these organs, 32 feet of intestine, and we've got hundreds or thousands of little tiny splinters in our entire colon. You can see the magnitude of inflammation on a on a grand scale. And that's what we have to understand. Um, first of all, the number of just the number of cells in our body, 30 trillion, that's one with 12 zeros. and how many of those cells are inflamed based on on what we what happens in our in our world. I'm just going to mention plastics. Our plastics are ubiquitous in our world. That means they're everywhere.

Catalina Tate: Yes,

Dr. Boyd: we consume 90,000 particles of plastic every single day. 90,000. The body really doesn't know what to do with those pieces of plastic and they land on different parts of our body inside. And so if those pieces of plastic which are foreign, they're little tiny splinters, then you can understand the magnitude of inflam inflammation.

Catalina Tate: Yeah. So now when you talk about plastics, I would say, oh, but I don't eat plastic. So what is exactly you mean? For instance, there are a lot of we consume a lot of uh water that comes in plastic. What are other forms of plastic that it gets to our body?

Dr. Boyd: So the magnitude of plastics, you're right, is is overwhelming. So let's just use your kitchen for example. In your kitchen, many people use a plastic cutting board. Open your refrigerator up. The ketchup's in the plastic. The mustard's in the plastic. Um mayonnaise comes in plastic. Your sandwich bags that you make your sandwich are in plastic. the containers that you save the leftovers of your food. No, most of a lot of them are plastic.

Catalina Tate: Tupperware.

Dr. Boyd: Yeah. I mean, for years and years, we've had Tupperware parties and people put their food in there and then they take their Tupperware and put that in the in the microwave. We heat the plastic up. Those microparticles of plastic end up in the food. We pull the food out often times eat the food right out of the plastic and that's that's consumed.

Catalina Tate: What about warming up food in the microwave in a plastic container?

Dr. Boyd: Right. It's it's it's it it's it's a disaster.

Catalina Tate: It's toxic, right?

Dr. Boyd: It's toxic.

Catalina Tate: So that is interesting. So like when when one of my first questions was a change on the lifestyle and it it requires really understanding the importance of doing these things and it's not something that I I at least I I have not done it like from one day to the next but little by little I have done some changes in my home and also like containers that I use and everything right or the glass of water has to be always glass really but um what are other uh things that really contaminate our body because it's not only the plastics like I will say for instance and Gwen Gwen because like when you talk with young people they are still very healthy very young they don't see the damage that they are causing in their bodies so will you say like there are some foods that are not really good like some category of foods that are not really good

Dr. Boyd: so your question then is is when we look at food and other other possib possibilities of of things that can enter our body other than plastics. What would you look at? So, let's use let's let's talk about water. In the community that we live in, Fairhope, Alabama, if you do an EPA report analysis of our water, we have we have 16 toxins in our water. We look at our bay here because of of it's downstream from the delta. We have lots of runoff from uh farmers that have done herbicides for their crops and that runs down the delta lands in our bay. If our water even even using wells deep you know 100 300 ft all of those toxins from the fields from the farmer's fields are now in our water. So we have 16 toxins in our local water. And so when we take a a drink from our own faucet, we're consuming those toxins. And when I say toxins, that means in in volume or in mass, they will kill us. They're microtoxins. And so the volume doesn't kill us initially, but it's a slow death. And over time, we it we will have decreased health. uh our our health will not be as as good and we will cause a shortening of our life because of the chronic illness. So toxins from our water. Let's talk about uh food especially meat. Many of our meats are they have growth hormone to fatten up the cow and they feed or chicken and they have antibiotics to keep the the animal healthy so that they don't get sick so that the animal can be taken to slaughter. So when we consume the meat we're consuming growth hormone which is not a good thing to consume and we're consuming antibiotics. Antibiotics destroy our good flora in our gut, which sets us up for gut issues, which we've talked about earlier causes inflammation. So, we're sitting down at the table, we've microwaved our our roast beef in the in a plastic. We sit down, we consume our meat that has growth hormone, growth hormone in it, antibiotics in it, and then we drink our water, which has 16 toxins in it. and um and then the microplastics that occur from heating the meat up in the microwave. And so in one meal, we may consume literally 30 or 40 or 50,000 particles of toxins or plastics in one meal. It's staggering. And all of those cause inflammation and they cause endocrine disruption. Endocrine disruption causes chronic illness. Chronic illness causes early death.

Catalina Tate: Right? So what is the recommendation? What kind of meats are they recommended? And even perhaps what are the no no meats? Is there anything that you should say no? Let's avoid that one.

Dr. Boyd: So, it's very interesting. So, you know, you're not a big meat eater, correct?

Catalina Tate: No. No, not much.

Dr. Boyd: And so, like we've talked about, you love your fruits and my veggies and your vegetables. And and but the big problem you have with that is you need protein. And as we age and especially as as as women and men have more and more weight issues, we need more and more protein. So you sitting in that chair, you should consume 100 grams of protein per day. Men,

Catalina Tate: those 100 grams of protein are related to my age, my weight, right? It's is it's combined. Not everybody needs 100 grams.

Dr. Boyd: Not not everybody does, but all women would need somewhere around 80 grams of protein per day. And and as you age, that's exactly right. You need because as you age, you lose muscle mass and you need protein to develop muscle mass. And in concert with that, you need the hormone testosterone to help grow your muscles from the protein that you eat. And so you have the ability to get out of the chair as you age and stay and stay healthy. And so um so what what would we recommend? So, from a meat standpoint, we would recommend grass-fed, grass-finished, organic. And so, many communities uh can't that product is not offered, but the internet is great. You can contact um a a a ranch in Georgia or if you want to buy buffalo in Idaho. Uh, a lot of those companies will have grass-fed, grass-finished beef, pork, etc. from

Catalina Tate: So, pork is okay if it's grass-fed and grass-fed?

Dr. Boyd: It is. It is.

Catalina Tate: Oh, that's interesting.

Dr. Boyd: And and the same thing with chickens. And uh in my own home, we have chickens, not in the home, but we have them out in their in their in their house. And we feed them organic. They eat a lot of bugs. And and and we and we want we don't eat our chickens, we eat their eggs, but we want our eggs.

Catalina Tate: Yeah, grass fed and grass finished.

Dr. Boyd: From a water standpoint, the most important thing that you can do in your own home is put a reverse osmosis system on your kitchen sink and a filter on your shower. Why is that? Reverse osmosis system is going to remove all the junk all all the way down to two microns. Now, you're going to have to replace the minerals that are removed from from your water, the magnesium, the salt, uh, etc. But the water is going to be pretty much pure with the reverse osmosis system. Okay. The filter on your showers is super necessary. Why? Your skin is your largest organ. And you know, I can put a patch on your arm and you can absorb a hormone or you can absorb a narcotic. Understand that the shower hitting your skin, you're going to absorb all the toxins that we've talked about uh in our local water. Okay? And and so those are just two things that you can do from a gut health standpoint, decreasing inflammation standpoint, decreasing chronic illness, and it's really easy. Reverse osmosis system is not expensive and do-it-yourselfers can put it in right underneath your sink. Okay. In a day.

Catalina Tate: All right. All right. Very good. Thank you, Dr. Boyd. I have a question and it's going to kind of turn a little bit the way it's going. Okay. So um what is the because I do have quite a good amount of friends that um have hypothyroidism and so one question is what is the difference between hypothyroidism and Hashimoto and actually will you say that so many times Hashimoto is misdiagnosed?

Dr. Boyd: So to to be clear, you're you're specifically saying hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's. Is there a difference? Are they related? How do we diagnose them?

Catalina Tate: Yeah.

Dr. Boyd: Okay. Okay. So the the term hypothyroidism means that your thyroid is not functioning like it's supposed to. Your thyroid gland creates a thyroid two two molecules, a thyroid 4 and a thyroid 3. Thyroid 3 is what goes to every cell in your body and does what it's supposed to do inside that cell. In other words, to keep it healthy. Because of many reasons that we've talked about, from plastics to toxins to stress, our thyroid doesn't function as well as it should. And so the T4 and the T3 that are released from the thyroid decrease in in the amount that is being produced. That is the definition of hypothyroidism. Okay? And it's confusing because when you see the blood test, it's called TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone. You see the test and it says it's high. And your doctor says to you, you have hypothyroidism. And you say, "Wait a second. It says TS TSH is high. Well, I I don't understand why I have hypothyroidism." Well, thyroid stimulating hormone is released from your pituitary gland that tells your pituit tells your thyroid to work harder because there's not enough thyroid out there. Okay? In other words, your thyroid is not doing what it's supposed to. So, TSH goes up because the thyroid is not working. All right? And you go to your doctor, they diagnose it. Oftenimes you have fatigue issues, you have dry hair, dry skin, constipation, cold intolerance. Those are the clinical symptoms that people have with hypothyroidism. And your doctor oftenimes put you on Synthroid. Synthroid is the synthetic T4, thyroid 4 drug. It's the number one prescribed drug in the world. That is different than Hashimoto's. Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid. Hashimoto's the the medical term for it is called autoimmune thyroiditis. I itis means inflammation of the thyroid. We think Hashimoto's occurs because of gut permeability. So you get these breaches in your gut that are supposed to keep the outside world out that allow the outside world to come in. And we've talked about plastic consumption and toxins. So they breach the gut, they meander around the body, they land on the thyroid. The body immune system which is in your gut recognizes that there's a splinter.

Catalina Tate: Yes.

Dr. Boyd: In other words, a for a foreign agent that's on the thyroid and it needs to be removed. And so little soldiers called antibodies are released from your gut that go to remove that plastic and send it out through your colon, through your poop. Okay, that is the definition of Hashimoto's.

Catalina Tate: So, so to be clear, it's not the same hypothyroidism which could be maybe help through medicine, right? and Hashimoto's because Hashimoto's you don't need necessarily a medicine for the thyroid in this case is the immune system the one that is actually attacking the thyroid so you need to actually help your immune system to get healthier so it stops attacking the thyroid and I think that is super important for people to understand that it's not the same and the treatment shouldn't be the same

Dr. Boyd: you an A+ for all that in fact I think we need to switch places and we're going ask you that because you nailed it. That's exactly correct. The interesting thing about Hashimoto's is not everybody that has Hashimoto's has hypothyroidism. The thyroid in many patients that have Hashimoto's still is working. Okay. Now, we follow the function of the thyroid regularly with regular blood tests at least quarterly because at some point if the thyroid continues to be damaged from the body trying to remove these toxins, eventually you will become hypothyroid. But you're exactly right. Many of our patients are not on thyroid medications, but but we're attacking the Hashimoto's from an immune system standpoint, healing the gut, removing the things that are damaging the body, toxins, plastics, and I I I sound like a broken record, but it's the same process that's causing all of our chronic illnesses, this in intake of of all the junk in our world.

Catalina Tate: So, now one more thing. I have read that gluten mimics the thyroid tissue and so gluten is almost in everything um bread um macaron all of the pasta things and so but people is not aware of that and so what happens and you correct me please if I'm wrong is that when it mimics the thyroid So it actually exacerbates the immune system to respond and and keeps attacking the thyroid. Is that correct? And so what will you say is a a solution for it and maybe a substitute for gluten?

Dr. Boyd: So it's very interesting. So your gluten question, how does it relate to the body? Is gluten the problem? This is a difficult question and a difficult answer. If you ask yourself, did Jesus eat bread on a regular basis? Yes, he did every day. I don't think they had gluten problems two centuries ago. But something has happened in the way bread and grains are created in the past 20 or 30 years. And when I was growing up and when you were growing up, you never heard of a gluten allergy. Nobody had that. So just in one or two generations, this has changed dramatically. So when you investigate gluten, it's the way it's prepared or or or grown that the body recognizes as a foreign agent. It's no different than if you take a piece of plastic and put in the body. So when the body sees this gluten in certain people now, whether it's genetic, whether it's epigenetic, whether it's environmental, we do not know that answer to that question. And but it's a huge problem for gut issues. And it's it's not only the gut. Remember we talked about earlier if the gut is not in harmony, then you have an inflammatory process. And that inflammatory process can affect all the organs of of the body from the brain to the thyroid uh to the kidneys to the heart. That is a big statement that one little particle a gluten particle can create all that. Back to my splinter analogy. If every single particle of the gluten is like a little splinter and the body recognizes that that that is foreign, you can see this crazy wildfire that can start and and and inflame the entire body. And gluten is a simple process to remove. A lot of people don't like this because a lot of people like bread, but if you have chronic bloating and chronic abdominal pain, then remove gluten. Just start there and see how you feel. And it can't be just one or two days. You have to you have to say, "Okay, I'm going to take everything. I'm gonna take all gluten out of my body for one month. Keep a diary and see how you feel." You'll know the answer very quick quickly if gluten is an allergy. And it and it's typically not an allergy. It's a sensitivity for most people.

Catalina Tate: Yes. So uh since I've been doing some changes in my diet and it is very restrictive and that could be for some people boring for some others it's like oh no I love to eat and so what will you say as a word of encouragement to those people even you know uh to those that have to really be consistent in changing some things just I mean I know the result is that in the long term you're going to feel better but don't Would you find that to be kind of the hardest things maybe as you implement this functional medicine practice?

Dr. Boyd: I do. So understanding of how what do we do with gluten if we have an allergy or sensitivity? How do we change our life? How do we not become discouraged? I think is is is a great question. We at Epiphany have developed an autoimmune protocol diet. It's a 12-week program and what you do is you try to remove all of the potential agents that cause inflammation inside your body from from gut distension, abdominal pain to inflammation on your thyroid, etc. It's very very restrictive. You have to remove lots of different products. I can say this and it sounds almost mean. If you're sick enough and you feel bad enough, you will do this diet. If you're okay just feeling bad, you won't do the diet because it is so difficult. So, the autoimmune protocol is a 12-week program and we we remove all these products, including gluten, specifically with your question. After 12 weeks, we start introducing things back into your diet. And based on how you feel, you will know if that's a sensitivity or not. Now, the real question that you're asking is if you have a gluten sensitivity or a gluten allergy, can you remedy that? Will you ever be able to eat bread in the future? And the answer is yes. Because if we look at your life from a functional medicine standpoint, lifestyle, diet, and activity, we develop a protocol where we reduce inflammation, you may be able to reintroduce gluten in the future after you do a specific protocol.

Catalina Tate: Okay. Well, so there is hope.

Dr. Boyd: There is hope. Absolutely.

Catalina Tate: That's good. That's good. So I have one question and is more related to the hormones. And so one of them is um why will you say that birth control pills are not the solution for every women's symptom?

Dr. Boyd: So the question you ask is a fantastic question. Are the birth control pills safe? And the 15 different reasons that we use them, is that a a a a healthy way to approach women? We at Epiphany believe strongly that the birth control pill is is a very negative for pretty much everything. We are hormonal specialist company. Our goal for you is to optimize hormones. In fact, if you look at a triangle and say if we identify core issues of what your illness is, develop the core issue and identify it, work on your immune system, i.e. your gut and optimize hormones, that triangle then should set you on a pathway of health. Good health, not bad health, good health. the birth control pill. Then if we look at at at the this triangle in the right hand corner, which is optimizing hormones, the birth control pill does exactly the opposite of what we want to do. The birth control pill tells your brain to tell your ovaries to quit producing estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. You're 62 years old. you know that you don't have the hormones that you had 40 years ago,

Catalina Tate: right?

Dr. Boyd: It affects your sleep. It affects the way you juggle balls in the air. It affects your fatigue. On and on and on. So, you're a menopausal woman with decreased hormones. We all know that. If I give you the birth control pill and you're 20 years old, 40 years, your junior, this woman at 20 has the exact same hormones that you do. If I do blood testing, she has a testosterone level the same as yours. She has estrogen the same as yours. I'm telling you, you need to go on hormones to make you feel better. She's a 20-year-old female, and unless her doctor understands hormones, she would never know to ask, "Wow, I feel bad. I feel depressed. I feel anxious. Uh, I have no sex drive." Even though, you know, we don't necessarily encourage 20-year-olds to have sex drive. We they have to decreased sex drive. And so she feels miserable just like a 62 year old woman does without hormones and and and and so that's that's a real problem for a lot of young people. And then as she advances in age and eventually comes off the birth control pill. Sometimes her hormones take months and months and months to return. But there's another hormone called sex hormone binding globulin that some sometimes stays elevated for years and years that prevents the hormones from doing their job once they return. So it can affect fertility. And so that is a real difficult situation that lots of young people and lots of providers don't understand. I didn't understand that when I was in traditional medicine. I wrote thousands of doses of birth control pills and now I know I harmed a lot of those young people in doing that.

Catalina Tate: So you you will say basically stay out of birth control and actually manage the hormone levels in a different way just according to what every person needs whether it's a male or a female in right

Dr. Boyd: that's exactly right. So people say what do you do for birth control then well we recommend the intrauterine device. The intrauterine device is a fantastic tool. It has the best prevention of pregnancy and it doesn't affect your hormones negatively at all. So you don't have the depressed hormones that somebody on the birth control pill does and uh so it's a great option. You can stay on the IUD advice until you you go through menopause which is about 50. And so it's a great tool but yes I encourage every woman that is listening to us today do not go on the birth control pill. Do not go on the birth control pill.

Catalina Tate: Thank you, Dr. Boyd.