Biography affects biology
07/12/24 • 30 min
This episode, I share how elements of my biography may have affected my biology, including multiple digestive symptoms and thyroid disease.
I’m aiming for what Gabor Maté calls “a clear and honest look at the biographical factors that can disrupt our biological well-being”.
And I wanted to consider this in light of my previous two Nutrition With Love interviews, which discussed health challenges from two very different standpoints – one, mainly to do with the ‘mechanics’ of the gut, and the other, mainly to do with mind-body messaging.
Were my health challenges ‘mechanical problems’ in the body, or were they ‘formed by the mind’?
I think both. But of course it’s also more complicated than that.
Covering attachment, bereavement, mould, the HPA axis, digestive health, training one’s brain, hormonal balance and more, my discussion is partly inspired by Gabor Maté’s book Myth of Normal, in which he argues for the intimate interconnectedness of one’s environment, culture, biography and one’s state of health.
If my experiences help even one person to unravel some of their biology, or biography, in a healing way – then sharing them will be worth it.
Unlike my other episodes, this was recorded while standing in my kitchen and taking care of a lively dog - which close listeners will probably hear!
If you’d like to talk more about improving your digestive or thyroid health, do get in touch.
Some useful related links:
On thyroid health: https://nutrition-with-love.simplecast.com/episodes/why-your-thyroid-matters
On testing gut health: https://nutrition-with-love.simplecast.com/episodes/why-your-thyroid-matters
Gabor Maté’s book Myth of Normal, from which I quote chapter 7: https://drgabormate.com/book/the-myth-of-normal/
On attachment and stress: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2021.718198/full
On mould (video): https://www.transformationnutrition.org/post/anne-pemberton-mould-and-histamine
Sleep: https://nutrition-with-love.simplecast.com/episodes/sweet-sleep
On HPA axis / allostatic load: Izabella Wentz’s book https://mybook.to/adrenalprotocol / https://www.nature.com/articles/s41574-019-0228-0
For other references and any questions, please do get in touch on the link below.
Contact Clare via her website: https://www.transformationnutrition.org/contact
Theme music is by Chris Marchand. You can find more of his work at https://chrismarchand.bandcamp.com/
This episode, I share how elements of my biography may have affected my biology, including multiple digestive symptoms and thyroid disease.
I’m aiming for what Gabor Maté calls “a clear and honest look at the biographical factors that can disrupt our biological well-being”.
And I wanted to consider this in light of my previous two Nutrition With Love interviews, which discussed health challenges from two very different standpoints – one, mainly to do with the ‘mechanics’ of the gut, and the other, mainly to do with mind-body messaging.
Were my health challenges ‘mechanical problems’ in the body, or were they ‘formed by the mind’?
I think both. But of course it’s also more complicated than that.
Covering attachment, bereavement, mould, the HPA axis, digestive health, training one’s brain, hormonal balance and more, my discussion is partly inspired by Gabor Maté’s book Myth of Normal, in which he argues for the intimate interconnectedness of one’s environment, culture, biography and one’s state of health.
If my experiences help even one person to unravel some of their biology, or biography, in a healing way – then sharing them will be worth it.
Unlike my other episodes, this was recorded while standing in my kitchen and taking care of a lively dog - which close listeners will probably hear!
If you’d like to talk more about improving your digestive or thyroid health, do get in touch.
Some useful related links:
On thyroid health: https://nutrition-with-love.simplecast.com/episodes/why-your-thyroid-matters
On testing gut health: https://nutrition-with-love.simplecast.com/episodes/why-your-thyroid-matters
Gabor Maté’s book Myth of Normal, from which I quote chapter 7: https://drgabormate.com/book/the-myth-of-normal/
On attachment and stress: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2021.718198/full
On mould (video): https://www.transformationnutrition.org/post/anne-pemberton-mould-and-histamine
Sleep: https://nutrition-with-love.simplecast.com/episodes/sweet-sleep
On HPA axis / allostatic load: Izabella Wentz’s book https://mybook.to/adrenalprotocol / https://www.nature.com/articles/s41574-019-0228-0
For other references and any questions, please do get in touch on the link below.
Contact Clare via her website: https://www.transformationnutrition.org/contact
Theme music is by Chris Marchand. You can find more of his work at https://chrismarchand.bandcamp.com/
Previous Episode
Quality of life in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, with Clemmie Oliver
If I encounter anyone with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, I send them straight to Clemmie Oliver. Her clinic specialises in supporting people with IBD using Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine, and Clemmie has had prolonged experience of IBD herself.
Clemmie and I trained together several years ago, and since then she has built an incredibly successful IBD-focused clinic, now been joined by registered specialist gastroenterology dietitian, Jess Upton.
I absolutely loved this chance to catch up with her, and I think you will hugely enjoy hearing her personal (and reasonably dramatic) story of IBD and health, as well as her brilliantly passionate yet clear explanations of this often-misunderstood condition.
As Clemmie succinctly puts it: Diet matters – no matter what is going on.
Our topics include:
- Why the small intestine is Clemmie’s favourite part of the digestive system!
- What Inflammatory Bowel Disease is, and what causes it
- Clemmie’s own journey with IBD since the age of 9
- The important differences between IBD and IBS
- Symptoms to watch for if you suspect IBD, and what to do
- The relevance of stress to IBD
- The value of medical interventions AND nutrition and lifestyle medicine in IBD
- IBD Flares and what may help reduce them
- Clemmie’s advocacy work with her IBD patients
More on Clemmie:
Clemmie is a Qualified Nutritional Therapist (DipION), Registered Associate Nutritionist (MSc, AfN) and founder of the Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine Clinic which supports people living with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases to improve their quality of life. Clemmie also mentors other nutrition professionals and provides IBD training and education for other healthcare professionals. Clemmie regularly speaks on the topic of nutrition for large corporations based around the world, and works with IBD charities and companies as a nutrition advisor. She has also carried out postgraduate research in IBD at the University of Aberdeen.
Clemmie is incredibly passionate about empowering patients with IBD by providing professional nutrition support to optimise nutritional intake, support symptom management, and ultimately improve their quality of life, as well as being their patient advocate. In addition, as an IBD patient herself, having lived with Ulcerative Colitis since the age of 9, she has a compassionate understanding of her patients’ experiences living with IBD.
https://www.instagram.com/clemmieolivernutrition/
https://www.facebook.com/nalmclinic/
Contact Clare via her website: https://www.transformationnutrition.org/contact
Theme music is by Chris Marchand. You can find more of his work at https://chrismarchand.bandcamp.com/
Next Episode
Toxic Superfoods with Sally K Norton
Not all superfoods should be eaten in quantity. This is the contention of Sally K Norton, who opens her book Toxic Superfoods with the story of actor Liam Hemsworth, whose kidney stone operation was linked to a diet high in certain superfoods.
Norton argues that a whole variety of symptoms may arise when consuming high levels of oxalate - which includes lots of the plants we may think of as healthy.
This conversation was a definite eye-opener and certainly contains some surprises! Sally provided a brilliant overview of her own oxalate-related health experiences, why and how oxalates can challenge the body, BUT also why going quickly and completely 'oxalate-free' is actually not advisable.
Sally K. Norton, MPH holds a nutrition degree from Cornell University and a master’s degree in Public Health. Her path to becoming a leading expert on dietary oxalate includes a prior career working at major medical schools in medical education and public health research. Her personal healing experience inspired years of research that led to her book, Toxic Superfoods: How Oxalate Overload is Making You Sick - and How to Get Better which was released in January 2023 from Rodale Press and is available everywhere books are sold. The subsequent Data Companion to Toxic Superfoods was released in May this year.
For more information, visit SallyKNorton.com or follow Sally on social media. She’s @sknorton and @toxicsuperfoods_oxalate_book (on Instagram), @BeFreeToThrive (on Facebook), Sally K. Norton (on YouTube), and @BetterLowOx (on Twitter.)
Contact Clare via her website: https://www.transformationnutrition.org/contact
Theme music is by Chris Marchand. You can find more of his work at https://chrismarchand.bandcamp.com/
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