TPV Podcast Episode 214, Test, Don't Guess ~ The Paleo Mom

In this episode, Stacy and Sarah discuss testing your suspected ailments instead of just guessing based on symptoms.

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The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 214: Test, Don’t Guess

Intro (0:00)
News and Views (0:40)
- Apparently, there are rules to jinxing.
- So apparently the theory of menstrual synchrony is hard to actually verify and might not actually exist.
- The topic of today’s show is “Don’t Self-Diagnose!” It could be dangerous!
- Example: Adrenal Fatigue
  - The symptoms for over active adrenals and under active adrenals can be very similar.
  - You need to test cortisol to see what kind of problem you have. Don’t guess based on symptoms
  - There are many Adaptogens, but you need a testing practitioner to figure out exactly what you need.
  - And the cortisol test is a neat spit test as well.
- Another example: SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth)
  - There is a breath test and a stool test to determine if you have SIBO
  - Current thinking says that you can’t treat it just with diet, you need to kill the overgrowth with antimicrobials.
  - It seems that many people diagnosed with candida (a yeast) overgrowth based on symptoms actually have a bacterial overgrowth.
- Another example: Hormone Imbalance
  - The symptoms of estrogen excess look very similar to testosteron excess. You need to actually figure out what your levels are!
- Food sensitivities may be the exception
  - People want the answer on a test to prove they should eliminate a food entirely.
  - You can still be sensitive even if a test doesn’t flag something. There are also foods with no tests at all.
  - If you still react to a food when a test says you don’t have an issue, why would you continue to eat it?
Question from Hanna (18:33): “Do you strongly recommend blood tests for figuring out what you should and should not eat? I follow a Paleo diet but I don’t know if I should adhere to anything else like AIP.”
- If you have a leaky gut, then you likely have multiple food sensitivities that will be hard to sort out by food journaling
- In this case, a sensitivity panel might be very useful as guidance.
- But if you’re self-diagnosing and diet combining without real evidence for why you should, you’re probably going to have a difficult time.
- Maybe you’re not feeling your best because of what you’re not eating. Try adding more nutrient density to your diet.
- Once you remove all these foods, you no longer have a health promoting diet.
Question from Dani (26:29): “Asked for my thyroid to be tested by my PCP bc I had concerns I was dealing with a potential Hashi’s situation (my mom has it, plus hand and finger numbness, hairloss, anxiety) but my Free T4 and TSH#s came back in the middle of normal range. B12 in the middle of normal but vitamin D is deficient (no surprise). For my anxiety my PCP Rx’d me an SSRI. Considering I’ve had hand tingling in the night, hair loss, and anxiety could this not be just vitamin D but really a thyroid issue despite my test results? Trying to figure out what next steps should be and what I should push back on my PCP for. You ladies are my faves…never miss a podcast!”
- It would be best to get a full thyroid panel. This site lists what should be on the panel
- Sarah covers her thyroid saga in this post.
- You can also have conversion disorders that are different from thyroid issues. Hormones are converted in other organs and problems with that can cause thyroid symptoms
- Search for functional range of thyroid panel to find the optimal ranges. Such as here.
Sarah will have finish her sleep challenge by next week. Check out her challenge here.
Outro (38:20)

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