HouseCall: Postnatal Program, DE Cleanse, Acne Struggle, Gut Overgrowth, Food in Stool, Weak Agni, Collagenous Colitis

Welcome back to our weekend Cabral HouseCall shows!

This is where we answer our community’s wellness, weight loss, and anti-aging questions to help people get back on track!

Melissa: Hi Dr. Cabral – my question is this: I am currently expecting my first baby (early December). I am choosing to have a natural birth at a birthing center and am hoping that you can steer me in the right direction for postpartum recovery. Some background: After college, I didn’t have a period for 5+ years. When I got married in 2013 I realized that I needed to address my lack of a cycle if I wanted to start a family someday. My gynecologist told me ‘don’t worry we’ll deal with it when you want to get pregnant’ (as in, we’ll put you on Clomid). Well, I didn’t want that. I knew I needed to get my system balanced to avoid more long-term problems. I did some testing through a functional medicine doctor, and along with a supplement protocol and some lifestyle changes I was able to balance everything out, get my cycle regulated and ultimately get pregnant (praise God!). Postpartum I want to make sure that I set myself up for success to get my hormones regulated again and specifically make sure my thyroid is healthy (which I know can become an issue for many women during/after birth). Given my history with hormone imbalance I’m wondering if you can suggest what blood tests I should run, and when I should run them (2 months postpartum, 6 months, etc.) to get an idea of how my body is recovering and if I need to supplement. I might add that I will be exclusively breastfeeding. Prior to getting pregnant, I was taking KyoGreen for iodine intake as well as some other adaptogenic herbs (ashwaganda, maca root, vitex) for hormone regulation. I’d love to hear your thoughts on going back on these as well as any suggestions you have so that I can be the best and healthiest mom possible! 

Jessi: Hi! I have been taking DE Dailey to great success I can’t put my finger on it but feel it’s helping w parasite issue and skin. 2 part question: 1. I want to go through a round of the intestinal cleanse – is it ok to add DE to the doc. Shultz #2 powder /drink? for added benefit? 2. for a daily “upon wake drink” can i mix DEearth w psyllium or psyllium husk pills ? i want to keep taking DE every day will start intestinal cleanse as soon as i hear thanks for everything always ! 

Anonymous: Hi Dr. Cabral, I’ve been struggling with acne since April of this year (cheeks, jawline, eyebrows, temples, forehead). I’ve referred back to all of your acne-related podcasts and have done the following: 7 and 21-day detoxes (acne cleared and came back within a week), and food sensitivity testing (reactivity moderate for cow’s milk, yogurt, egg yolk, and candida). One of your health coaches had suggested that I try your candida protocol. Back on another 7-day detox, post-travel, and additional flare-ups. I’ve also just completed your Weight Loss test to evaluate my hormones (no results yet). My naturopath has also prescribed me Berberine Complex (integrative therapeutics) and CandiBactin-AR (metagenics), since I tested positive for candida and this could be a contributor to my acne. Background – I stopped birth control in December of last year. I’m a vegetarian who eats mostly vegan but has limited my intake of eggs, since testing (I rarely consume dairy). I’m very frustrated and feel like I have very little control over my skin, and testing/supplements are not inexpensive. Please help! And thank you for all that you do. 

Tiina: Hi! I’ve been listening to your podcast for a while and really enjoy your objective and scientific take on functional medicine. I’m a 23-year-old female and been suffering from bad gut issues on and off for around 5 years. I am currently doing an internship and studying on the side and struggling to get through the day-to-day with my symptoms and keep up with my life, even though I have tried to take a tone it down as much as possible and only focus on the necessary. My main problems include nausea, stomach aches, feeling very tired, anxiety/mood issues, and brain fog. Just to add, I’ve been on a gluten-free paleo diet for several years now and it did help a bit. I’ve recently had the GI Effects stool panel done and am waiting for results from that to see if I have a parasite or gut infection problem. I’ve had functional blood tests for lyme and other infections done recently and came up positive for Yersinia and Anaplasma / Ehrlichia and had a high MCV and other markers that point to a B12 deficiency. My question is what can I do right now to feel better? The rest of my lab results will take several weeks and I won’t see my functional medical professional in nearly 3 weeks. I understood that it’s important to keep the adrenals in balance too (since I would bet in my case they are under strain) but I also want to get rid of all the infections and toxins from my body as soon as possible to feel better. My nutritionist who ordered the tests said that we would start using herbs to cleanse my body of infections and bugs, but I’ve read that that might be very hard on your adrenals and body if you are releasing all those toxins all of a sudden. I am just worried I will get bad side effects and have to take too many days off due to the detox. Thank you so much if you take the time to respond, I’m listening to all your podcast episodes back and look forward to new ones every week! Kind Regards, Tiina

Lisa: Hi Dr. Cabral, thank you so much for answering my questions, I truly appreciate it! My question today is about poop and lack of energy. I’m a gluten-free vegan and eat only healthy foods, I do not even have a cheat meal! I have done your candida/bacteria protocol, I also do your daily shake, your greens, and your B complex. Although my digestion is better, I still wake up tired. I go to bed by 10, wake up at 5:30. Also, I can see undigested food in my stool….like nuts, seeds, and even quinoa. I do take digestive enzymes, HCL, and a gall bladder supplement as well. Should I be avoiding the foods that I see in my stool? What else can I do to get more energy? I always feel my best when I’m fasting, but it’s difficult to always fast cuz I crave healthy foods. Thank you 

Matt.: Hello Dr. Cabral! Just wanted to say thank you for your life-changing/accessible information through your podcasts and site! I’ve tried to share the information you present with my family and close loved ones and will continue to spread the word. You are making a difference in people’s lives! I wanted to see what information you could give me about collagenous colitis. My mom has this as well as lupus. She hasn’t had a bad lupus flare-up for a few years but the colitis affects her everyday life. She lives a fairly healthy lifestyle but we are confused as to what steps to take to heal this. There does not seem to be much information on collagenous colitis out there and want her to avoid any surgery on her gut unless absolutely necessary. It is a hard thing to approach due to the mixed information we hear about how to heal the gut as she suffers from a lot of similar symptoms of leaky gut but “collagenous colitis” as I understand is the excess build-up layer of collagen in her gut not allowing for proper absorption among other things. I would love to hear your input as my mom is approaching 50 this winter and would love to get her on the right track to healing! Thanks so much Dr. Cabral, I’m 21 and so much of what you went through as a teenager resonates with me; as I’ve dealt with similar issues! -Matt H

Thank you for tuning into today’s Cabral HouseCall and be sure to check back tomorrow where we answer more of our community’s questions!