Have you been told that you are on the path to diabetes or maybe that you already are pre diabetic? Have you also been told that you just need to change your food or you'll end up on medication?

You've tried but nothing you do is sustainable and you end up putting all of the weight you lost back on again. 

This is because you still need to get to the root cause of diabetes.  Most people will tell you that insulin resistance is the root cause of diabetes and they are partly correct but insulin isn't broken it just can't do it's job because of the food you are eating. 

After many years of trialing all of this on myself and observing others and many many hours of researching I finally found the root cause of insulin resistance which leads to type two diabetes. 

Check out this video for a full explanation. 

Insulin has been talked about a lot lately.  Mainly when it comes to trendy diets like keto. “You don’t want to spike your insulin so you better cut out your carbs” I’ve heard it all before. I was personally educated by one of the leading international researchers in ketogenic diet.  When you are presented with research that has positive outcomes by someone who is a Dr and Professor at a University it’s important to listen. It is also Important to note here that his research is centred around endurance athletes rather than general population.

Over the years, as this way of eating became more popular along with the increase in consumption of meats and fats like steak and cheese, I began to notice, that many people, mainly women, were actually getting sicker.  They may have lost some weight in the beginning but only to a certain point then it always stopped and their health was suffering.  So I made it my mission to find out what is truly going on here.  Why did people’s cholesterol still go up when eating this way?   Why did they pile back on the kilos when they started eating carbs again almost immediately? Why did they still get fatty liver on this diet when sugar was always to blame? Why did they head straight to metabolic syndrome not long after stopping this diet? Why did people just become so chronically tired and get brain fog?

It may have taken me a few years of research but once I found the answer it all became so very clear.

Too much Insulin was the main contributing factor to so many chronic conditions but it wasn't were the problems began, it goes way deeper than this. 

Insulin is a hormone which is made and released into the body by the pancreas. It attaches to the cell receptor and sends a message inside the cell to help move glucose from the blood stream and get it into the cells to be used for energy. 

Insulin resistance is a disruption in the communication between insulin and the inside of the cell which means the glucose can't get in. The pancreas releases more and more insulin but there is still a problem in communication so the end result is way too much insulin and glucose in the blood stream. We have billions of cells in our body and the biggest problem areas for insulin resistance are the fat, liver and muscle cells.

Yes the ketogenic diet can help with insulin resistance by reducing your blood sugars and insulin production while you are eating a high fat diet but this is just symptomatic relief. This is confusing the symptoms of high blood sugars and excess insulin production with the underlying problem which is difficulty processing the carbohydrates or carbohydrate intolerance. 

What I started to see in people was that their carbohydrate intolerance skyrocketed once they reintroduced carbs to their diet after being on a low carb diet. Their weight more than doubled what they had lost and many other signs went up as well like digestive issues. So the little bit of insulin resistance that you had which led you to begin the keto diet in the first place increased exponentially and has catapulted many people straight towards diabetes.  Because eventually the pancreas gets tired and just gives up and stops producing insulin and we are left with too much glucose in the blood stream. The ketogenic diet was treating the symptoms while actually worsening the underlying disease at the same time. 

The problem began many many years prior to this. 

Let's break it down to a cellular level

There are different types of cells all over our body and they are building blocks that make everything.  We all start off as a single cell and then we just keep dividing and dividing over and over again to make all the amazing parts of our body.

The best way I can visually show you the individual cells is to show you a heart made out of lego, the individual lego bricks are the muscle cells that make it.

I also found one for the liver, this one isn't the healthiest, it has a few fat deposits this is known as fatty liver.

I couldn't find one for fat cells so here are some fats cells to give you a visual. 

Each one of those cells needs to produce energy to keep holding it together otherwise it just dies. Your body will naturally take care of this, it's a natural process and doesn’t create a reaction from the immune system.  Cells can also die from toxins or lack of blood supply and this can leak out and damage neighbouring cells and create inflammation in the body. Cells can also become infected with viruses or bacteria, the neighbouring cells get alerted then which activates the immune system and inflammation occurs to try and restrict the spread, kind of like a lockdown. 

Many diseases are connected with abnormal cell growths and deaths like cancer, autoimmune diseases, viral infections and heart attack. If our immune system isn't working properly and we don't catch the abnormal cells in time they will divide and spread. 

So you can see it is pretty important to keep our cells happy and healthy. We have trillions of them so it’s a pretty big job.

One motto I live by as a Naturopath is that the body is designed to do the jobs that it does for a reason and has an amazing ability to heal itself when given the right conditions.

Different cells require different fuel to keep them going, most of them require glucose so why would we stop eating carbohydrates? Oh that’s right, to keep insulin down. Why is that again?

Too much insulin creates chaos in the body and is connected to so many illnesses:

• Hypertension
• Pcos
• Endometriosis
• Gut health, IBS
• Headaches and migraines
• Thyroid disorders
• High cholesterol
• Acne
• Type 2 diabetes
• Weight gain
• Hot flushes
• Hair loss
• Too much testosterone for women
• Not enough testosterone for men
• Acid reflux/GORD
• Fibromyalgia
• osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Behaviour issues
• Hormonal imbalances
• Mood swings
• Chronic fatigue
• Insomnia
• Fatty liver happens before all of these

This list is long as there are not many conditions that are not connected to insulin resistance.

So of course you would think that cutting out carbs would help improve all of these different conditions, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. People cut out their carbs and are still suffering.

So what is blocking this message?

This is coming from the food you put in your mouth. Sometimes we think what we are eating is healthy but if you are still suffering from long term medical conditions then it more than likely isn’t helping you. 

Whenever I get asked what my opinion is on why people are just getting sicker and sicker, my answer is always the same. It all starts with the food.  This also includes our habits around our choices, our mindset about whether we want to get healthier or not it and also involves eliminating toxins.  The food we are eating is creating low grade metabolic inflammation within each and every one of our cells. How is the body supposed to function when it is constantly inflamed? Just like you can't walk with a sprained ankle. 

Yes, too much insulin causes chaos, but insulin is not the problem here.  We need insulin.

We need to cut out all of the foods that are preventing the communication into the cells mainly fats and oils as well as added toxic ingredients and added flavours and colours and preservatives.  I help my patients learn techniques to make these changes and go through an elimination period so that and see improvements in our health. Actual improvements. Then after going through the detox we begin to add in much better choices of ingredients. 

Mindset plays a big role in this too.  Society has put too much emphasis on just having a weight loss mentality rather than an improving health mentality.  Improve your health and the weight loss will come. If you have any of the illnesses mentioned then you need to improve your health and I can help you. 

And YES, there are ways you can still have pizza and still eat pasta and potatoes AND improve your insulin sensitivity and your health.  There are ways of reducing that long list of conditions. The body is designed to do the jobs that it does for a reason. It’s up to you to provide the right fuel and the right environment.

Although you are noticing symptoms now, this problem actually began many many years ago ie 20 - 30 years ago. Your lifestyle made changes in your gut and in particular your liver and pancreas as well as your ability to process fats, carbs, and proteins.

If only you could understand what is going on inside the body and do what needs to be done while still enjoying life at the same time. 

You can!!!!!

Hi my name is Melissa Callaghan - I am a Bachelor qualified and accredited Naturopath and Nutritionist who specialises in reducing metabolic inflammation as well as improving gut health and balancing hormones.

In my many years working in clinic with my patients I believed that even though everyone had different illnesses there must be one thing that everyone has in common. Our society was just getting sicker and sicker. The most common conditions people go to hospital for are heart conditions, diabetes, obesity, and mental health. I questioned why this was getting worse and worse and occurring in younger age groups more and more.

So I made it my mission to try and get to the bottom of this and I spent years searching for answers. I knew there were contributing factors to people getting sick such as toxins and that these needed to be removed to prevent further sickness but not everyone was exposed to the same toxins. Yet the same illnesses kept filling our medical system. Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, mental health issues and obesity. I've worked in all these areas for years there must be something in common. I asked myself.

Then it hit me, everyone eats. It must be in the food. I began a journey of discovery and found that it was the ingredients in our food creating metabolic inflammation at a cellular level in our bodies. This was blocking pathways so no wonder we couldn't function properly. 

It all began to make sense. If I can create a program that helps people see food from a different perspective then I may be able to help reverse and prevent all of the conditions that people came to my clinic with and combine this with my natural medicine formulas to catch you up and help you feel better quicker.  

Conditions like:

- Metabolic syndrome
- Central adiposity
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Inflammation
- Type 2 diabetes
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Fibromyalgia
- Migraines
- IBS
- REFLUX (so common)
- Brain fog
- Hormonal imbalances
- Adrenal fatigue
- Chronic pain
- Endometriosis
- PCOS
- Fibroids

Honestly the list goes on. There are so many conditions connected to metabolic inflammation.

I began spending endless hours researching through all of the scientific evidence to find research papers to back up my findings. From here I began to create a program.  One program that would help EVERYONE.

I put together all of the similar components that I was already doing with each of my patients that followed the same path and I put them all together for everyone to follow.

I then began to add in the recipes and focused on creating meals that were delicious, quick and easy to prepare and that the whole family would love.

There was one last thing that I needed.  Over the years I had researched many many other programs and have seen many people try these programs only to bounce right back to where they started or worse after they finished.

I vowed to myself that the most important component (other than regaining health) was for everyone to be able to sustain the new lifestyle. I created a program that is completely flexible. You can go intense when you need to and not so intense when you don’t.

You can change your habits and stop the cravings, binging, and emotional eating. This a big part of what I do. I help you to understand your relationship with food and turn it into a positive one so you will never feel guilty about eating ever again. When you can see the subconsious programming and the habits that got you to where you are and learn skills to change these it becomes easier to sustain a happier, healthier life.

After getting the ball rolling I begin to use this program in clinic with my patients and within weeks and months I was seeing huge success.  Blood test markers were correcting themselves. People were no longer borderline diabetic, blood pressures where going down, cholesterol was going down, Drs had to reduce and remove medications. Reflux was non-existent and fat and kilos began to melt away. Most of all health began to increase.

I knew I was on the right path.

In my clinic I have been putting my patients through this program that I have called it "Toxins Be Gone 8 week Wholistic Detox program". The program incorporates an 8 week detox from inflammatory foods as well as working on changing the habits that lead you to choosing inflammatory foods in the first place (usually emotional eating).  As well as the education of how certain foods and toxins impact your body, the program works on removing toxins that are preventing the mind and the body from working effectively, helping to improve insulin sensitivity, reduce risk of diabetes and heart disease and help to reverse conditions you already have like high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Sometimes making changes can be difficult which is why a major component is working on the subconscious choices and reprogramming your habits and mindset.

My in clinic program is currently being transformed into the 8 week online course that will guide you step by step on your journey to transforming your health quickly. Where others have let you down before and you feel like no program will ever work, this program fills in the gaps that those programs have lacked to set you up for success.

To stay in touch about the program launch join my Facebook Group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/508871043066486/

Improvements are seen so quickly which helps keep you motivated. There's also a beneficial side effect of eating for health = weightloss. Most patients lose 6-8 kilos in the first 8 weeks.

If you are ready to take back your health, then book in to see me today. I see patients from all over thanks to technology and I can help you too. 

What if the solution was as simple as changing your diet and your mindset. A growing number researchers believe that it is and that you can prevent or even reverse several of our worst diseases.

Who am I?

I am a Bachelor qualified Naturopath who specialises in improving metabolic processes in the body and reducing metabolic inflammation. Major areas for improvement include gut health, thyroid, kidney, liver, weight loss and mental health. Conditions such as fatty liver, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, irritable bowel conditions, depression & anxiety. I help my patients by giving them symptomatic relief while working on repairing the underlying causes of metabolic stress and waste accumulation. 

Melissa Callaghan BHSc, BTeach
Naturopath, Nutritionist, Health & Wellness Coach

To book an appointment click here 

Leaky Gut

Article - Peri menopause
the impact of insulin and cortisol

You can read more about insulin resistance here

 

Would love everyone to come along and join the group.

 

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