Crowd Out Imbalances- Overflow Your Cup

One of the most common questions I get is how to begin supplementing with herbs, vitamins and or food while sick with X or taking A, B, C  prescriptions to which I usually respond with my own "crowd out" methodology. I do have a favorite herb and drug interaction resource that I haul out… it probably should just live on the front counter, but there are some general recommendations that I can make without in depth conversations, deep dives into medical histories or reading your doctor’s test print outs.

Fill the Cup

My basic philosophy is this:

“If there is dirt at the bottom of your cup, I would rather fill it up and watch the dirt float out harmlessly over the rim than shove my hand in and risk breaking the glass.”

The truth is that most of our imbalances have a nutritional component at the root. In most cases, this is so simple it is hard to believe.

Let’s take the adrenal glands for instance. We know that the adrenal glands require vitamin C and magnesium to operate. This is an oversimplification, but there are, let’s say, chief vitamins and minerals associated with each organ or system in our body. If we are not eating enough vitamin C and/or magnesium for both the general running of our body as a whole and in specific for our adrenal glands… there’s going to be illness. Our organs, simply speaking, need the nutrition that makes them run in order to run properly. It is helpful to identify what the organs involved with your imbalance need to EAT to work properly and begin to feed them!

Crowding Out Imbalances

When someone asks about any illness that they are working with, I first help them understand the nutrition that will help. Usually, the next question is…. “well I am still on my (anti-depressant, statin, etc.), when do I know if I can stop taking that?”

The answer in the case of some medications is quite complicated. If your goal is to reduce or remove medication, the first step is to work with a Western Medical Practitioner who will support your goal with appropriate blood tests.

• In some cases, stopping your medication and beginning to work with alternative supportive therapies can be done safely
• In some cases, your medication is protecting you from dying because your system is unsafely imbalanced. Coming off your medication needs to be a process of heal first, then remove unnecessary support structures. If you break your leg and require a cast and crutches, you don’t take away the crutches and start walking around on your leg after a few days because you just don’t want to depend on crutches…. nor do you walk with crutches for the rest of your life and never remove the cast… but that is a conversation for another day.
• In most cases, monitoring for changes through your doctor can be advantageous to understanding when your body is making shifts that can allow for less medicine safely… much like- when you might be able to remove the cast, but still need a cane. Adding nutrition serves to "crowd out" the illness as there is no longer any room for imbalance.... but it usually happens in stages

"Crowd Out" Means- Increase Vitality FIRST

The very first step, if you are on medication or deep in a complicated imbalance, should be to bring up the vitality of your body as a whole and the involved body organs or systems as a first step. In essence, the goal is to crowd out… or send the imbalance overflowing over the rim of your cup. Sometimes in a complicated situation, I start with a simple nourishing tea like our High Vitamin Tea... or I send someone home with our Tummy Love Syrup because without a properly working digestion, no amount of investment in prescriptions or supplements is going to worth the money or time.

Unfortunately, we live in an age where medical issues have become quite complicated and convoluted. At the base of most imbalances, there is usually just one issue that was left unaddressed by the current focus of resolving symptoms rather than imbalances. As we pile on medications, we create new problems… and the body becomes a tangle of issues much like a Gordian Knot.

Complicated often feels insurmountable and many people just give up… “I’m such a mess, I don’t even know where to start!”

Don't Give Up!

Don’t give up! Start with nourishing your body… you can’t go wrong! Once you’ve fed your body for the imbalances you experience, you might just see some of them “harmlessly flow over the top of your cup” without any active effort. This will leave behind the things that you truly need to work on… and hopefully the energy and vibrancy to empower you to do so!