Healthy Writer: Interview with Dr. Davis

I’ve shared in past blogs my health progress, how I was able to control my thyroid disease, arthritis, brain fog, and general fatigue.  With lab testing and a new way of eating, I’ve been able to get rid of all medication (except for my thyroid), and my inability to lose weight went away.  Suddenly, after years of dieting, exercising to no avail, I’ve lost weight without much effort.

I believe my body is getting what it needs in nutrients, and is thankful for the food I don’t consume anymore that were hurtful to me.  This morning, I’m thrilled to have on my blog Dr. Brian Davis, D.C., who guided me to a better health.  In five months, Dr. Davis resolved health issues that my regular medical doctors have never been able to help in years.

CS:  Good morning, Dr. Davis, and thanks so much for accepting to be on my blog.

B.D: Good Morning! Thanks so much, for letting me contribute!

CS:  I found you through a book I read last November, Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal, by Dr. Datis Kharrazian.  A good friend of mine recommended the book and I devoured it in one sitting.

Thyroid problems were only one part of the health problems that brought me to your office.  I felt like food had become my enemy; bloating, belly pain, inability to lose weight.  I was discouraged, especially since I’d been diligent about my diet and exercise regimen.

I also complained about brain fog.  And for writers, brain fog is a curse.

Can you tell us about Dr. Kharrazian’s book and what brought you to offer thyroid health treatments?

B.D: Absolutely, I love talking about this topic!

Dr. Kharrazian’s book was written for individuals who are asking that exact question (why do I have thyroid symptoms when I have normal lab tests?). My wife and I stumbled into both Dr. Kharrazian’s book and his approach because we were finding thyroid problems with so many of our patients. Now, being chiropractors, we would do everything we could to help them through adjusting their spine and helping them with their diet and lifestyle. Despite our best efforts, these patients weren’t improving like we had hoped. And to further complicate this, their doctors would tell them they were “healthy” and that it was their family, busy schedule, or stressful job that was to blame.

With Dr. Kharrazian’s approach, you begin to look at the thyroid in an unconventional manner. Roughly 90% of thyroid disorders are autoimmune in origin, meaning that they are caused by your immune system. This autoimmune thyroid disorder is called Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism. With Hashimoto’s, your immune system attacks and destroys your thyroid gland. Now, your thyroid gland plays a role in the functioning of every cell of your body, so this destruction of your thyroid gland throws your body into a state of chaos.

Once I learned this information, it changed my world. I began to look at my patients differently and began working to help them balance their immune system and teach them how to control this attack on their thyroid gland. My practice literally changed overnight and we started to see life-changing results with our patients. Being able to take someone from a place where they are discouraged about their health to a place where they feel great and understand their health is what I look forward to everyday!

C.S:  Hashimoto’s disease…  sounds ominous.  Could you explain it further?

B.D: To elaborate a little more on Hashimoto’s, we need to talk a little about how your body works. Antibodies play a huge role in your immune system function. I describe antibodies to my patients as flags, they are flags that your immune system uses to identify what is bad and what is good. These flags help direct your immune system to what needs to be destroyed or cleaned up.

Knowing that information, Hashimoto’s is actually an immune response against an enzyme that forms thyroid hormone within your thyroid tissue. Because you have antibodies against that enzyme, your immune system basically sees it as a foreign invader. What this means is that whenever your immune system activates to destroy a foreign invader, it also destroys your thyroid tissue, where that enzyme is located.

Here’s the important part about everything I just said. When thyroid tissue gets destroyed, thyroid hormone is released into your body. Since every cell in your body is affected by thyroid hormone, this destruction of thyroid tissue causes fluctuations in your thyroid hormone levels that can affect many different areas of your body. This can cause your health and symptoms to fluctuate. Understanding that is the key to helping someone with Hashimoto’s.

C.S:  My treatment started with the Elimination Diet, and I resisted your suggestion at first to start with a 5 day fast.  Once I got over my fear of the fast, I realized the role of blood sugar levels in my body, and what insulin resistance does.

The majority of writers love coffee and chocolate and diet coke; when brain fog appears, it’s time for a coffee boost.  Can you explain the cycle of sugar in the blood?  And what insulin resistance is and does?

B.D: Blood sugar control is one of the most important and also most overlooked parts of health. Blood sugar, or glucose, is the fuel on which your body runs. I always tell patients to think about their car. Gasoline is the fuel for your car in the same way that glucose is fuel for your body. When you run out of gasoline, your car doesn’t run. When your body doesn’t have glucose, it doesn’t function, either. You also can’t flood your car’s engine with gasoline or it will break down. Your body is exactly the same, but smarter.

Because you can’t, and shouldn’t, eat every second of the day, your body helps to control your blood sugar- whether it goes high or low. For most people, the problem is that they rely too much on their body itself to regulate their blood sugar levels, and don’t pay enough attention to the types or quantities of food they’re putting into it. Because of this, it is a common problem for many of my patients to have developed issues with their adrenal glands (which are responsible for blood sugar regulation) such as adrenal fatigue. This can be due to not eating often enough or even not eating enough food.

You can also develop insulin resistance from eating too much or from consuming the wrong kinds of foods. Insulin resistance is the precursor to Type II diabetes and simply means that your blood sugars go too high and that your body has become resistant or numb to the effects of insulin. Insulin is responsible for lowering your blood sugar levels and the body’s resistance to it results in your blood sugars being higher than normal. This can wreak havoc on your body.

C.S:  So far, I’m very pleased with the treatment:  I’ve been able to eliminate all medication, save for thyroid support.  It’s been difficult to abandon the foods I’ve loved all my life:  gluten (French baguette), coffee, dairy (ice cream), nuts.  But I also realized those foods were the culprits who brought me to my knees in my 40s.  After years of intestinal inflammation, it’s nice to eat a meal and not feel bad.

Cutting all those foods from my diet has enabled me to savor better.  I now enjoy simple foods, and everything tastes enhanced.

One result from the tests that surprised me was my low stores of vitamin D.  I was incredulous.  After all, I play tennis every day, which means I’m in the sun a lot, and I take supplements.  How could I be low in Vitamin D?

B.D: I share your surprise, Carole! I consistently have people coming into my clinic that have low levels of vitamin D. This saddens me, because vitamin D is vital for your body. It helps to regulate and balance immune function, it is vital in hormone production, and even helps heal your digestive tract.

In response to your question; most creams, lotions, and moisturizers today have sunscreen in them, which prevents vitamin D production from sun exposure. Now, another factor is that there is a fair amount of research showing that individuals with autoimmune disorders have genetic issues with vitamin D metabolism. Both of these factors often contribute to people having less than adequate levels of vitamin D.

C.S:  Thyroid Health is offered at your clinic, but the range of treatments you offer is wide.  Please tell us about the different care options at LifeLogic.

B.D: My passion lies with helping people who have lost hope in their health get that hope back. We primarily serve as a women’s health clinic helping with thyroid issues, autoimmune diseases, fertility support, and other various women’s health issues. The basis of our practice lies in educating people about how to make their health a priority in a practical and logical manner. We utilize chiropractic, nutrition, and lifestyle modification in order to help people bring their health back into control. Every one of our patients will be sent through the same intake process as you, Carole. This involves extensive laboratory testing, a thorough health history, and extensive physical examination to determine the best approach for that individual. I always urge people to give the office a call if they have questions. We always do consultations with patients before beginning this intake process to make sure they are good candidates for our clinic.

C.S:  Thank you so much for taking the time to share with me.

B.D: You’re very welcome, Carole. It was my pleasure!

You can reach Dr. Davis on his website www.LifeLogicOnline.com for information or call the office directly @ 843.406.3300

Questions?  Post a comment or a question below for Dr. Davis!