Introduction
[00:00:00] Detective Ev: What is going on, my friends? Welcome back to another episode of the Health Detective Podcast by Functional Diagnostic Nutrition. My name is Evan Transue, aka Detective Ev. I will be your host for today’s show about IBS.
Before we get into the story, I just want to inform you we are in the midst of our FDN Summer Open House month of events, June 2023. It is a crazy month here at FDN. We are doing over 20 Live events that you can attend. I have the privilege to be able to kind of MC, or host, a lot of them. I think I’m only missing about two total.
The best part is it’s completely free. There is an option that you can pay for. That will give you access to the recordings, and it will also give you access to a private Facebook group that has the staff in it, people like myself and others, who can answer your questions directly.
It was $37 starting off, then they bumped it up to $57 for people that did not act quickly. They’re going to be bumping it up again to almost a hundred dollars. So, if you know you’re going to want the recordings, purchase that now at the current price. But again, you can attend all the events for free, Live. You just have to be there at the time that we’re doing it.
It is fdntraining.com/summer to check it out. See if you’d even like the events by going to the same URL, you don’t even have to register. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and read all of the events/topics that we’re doing to make an informed decision whether or not that is for you. Again, that’s fdntraining.com/summer.
IBS: Health Journey and Health Success
We are talking with someone who has actually become a pretty good friend of mine through all these events that we do for FDN. Her name is Kim Del Castillo.
We’ll be talking about her story today, IBS, her journey with that, and now how she has been able to resolve it. This is from another person who was just kind of going through life, not really thinking about the whole functional and natural thing. She ended up having health challenges, got super interested in this, went through the FDN course, and now does this as a real business and a real job.
I think it’s amazing, and we are so lucky to be able to provide people with this transformation of, just going through their normal life, like I said, and then a few years later, they are doing this as their career. This is what they get to help people with, and they healed themselves. I think that’s about as good as it gets.
Without further ado, let’s get to today’s episode. Alright. Hello there Kim. Welcome to the Health Detective Podcast, finally. How are you?
[00:02:41] Kim Del Castillo: I’m great. I’m happy to be here.
[00:02:43] Detective Ev: Yeah. Kim and I have gotten to connect quite a few times now, which is really fun and exclusively through conferences. Because Kim is based out of the Austin, Texas area and we’re apparently just only going to conferences in Austin nowadays in the health space. That seems to be the hub for it. I’m kidding, of course, there’s other places, but it’s really interesting how many conferences keep getting hosted there.
IBS: A Lot Going On
Kim always is usually one of our volunteers at the FDN booth, so it’s fun. We’ve gotten to hang out a lot. Then it was mainly you and I at the How Do You Health? Conference. She helped me out there as well. So, it’s cool to finally have you full circle for the show.
And I know that you have listened to at least some episodes, correct?
Kim Del Castillo: Oh yeah, Uh huh.
Detective Ev: All right, sweet. So, you already have kind of an idea of how it goes and the story-based aspect of it.
Now, even though you and I have covered a lot of our health journeys together, what I always find is when I go into more of a podcast interview format, there’s always something to uncover. And certainly, the audience doesn’t know anything about your story yet so, let’s start there. It’s the first question that I always ask here. I like to know when did the health symptoms for you begin and what did they look like no matter how long ago that might have been for you?
[00:03:48] Kim Del Castillo: I was 32. I was diagnosed with IBS years before, but it never really affected my life. I mean, just the occasional discomfort. That was when I was 24.
Thirty-two years old, I’m finishing up school. I did like the 20-year graduation plan. So, I’m doing school, I’m homeschooling my kids. They actually go to a university model school, they did. That was super academically rigorous, college prep school. And university model means they’re home some days and they’re at school some days. But when they’re at home, we’re not doing like carefree homeschooling, right?
IBS: Juggling Too Many Stressors
We are doing college prep: you need to do this, this is due tomorrow, like, sit down and do your work. You know? So, that’s a little stressful with a toddler and two boys that are doing this school. You’re wanting to cook healthy and all the things, right? You’re the principal, you’re the teacher, you’re the chef, you’re the housekeeper.
I had a great, still do, super supportive husband, but he works shift work. He is a firefighter, so he wasn’t home some days. It was just me and he wasn’t home some nights, 24-hour shifts. So, I was doing that with the kids and finishing school at night. So, staying up till one in the morning, writing papers and training for a half marathon.
I mean, maybe you’ll see kind of like how odd to get a brand-new house, which is not an issue unless maybe it was built in Austin. It might have mold and you’re just getting all those toxins. If you’re healthy and you don’t have all these other stressors that doesn’t really affect you. And I didn’t say swim team, boy scouts, and soccer. So, we have all that with a toddler and I was a little stressed at 32, right?
I didn’t feel it cause I was still juggling all the balls and the cortisol was working for me. But my body knew that I was doing too much and so all those stressors led to the IBS really becoming an issue.
This might be TMI, but I had urgent diarrhea up to 15 times a day. Which you can’t do all those things with that going on.
[00:06:12] Detective Ev: Is that almost even dangerous from a dehydration perspective?
[00:06:15] Kim Del Castillo: Oh yeah. I was skin and bones.
IBS: Food is the Culprit
Well, I’ve always been thin, but my hair was dry, and I was super thin. However, I had a little bit of a belly. My son, who’s on the spectrum, he’s very black and white, and he goes, Mom, like either you need to go to the gym or you’re pregnant. I was like, are you being prophetic? I’m not ready to be pregnant, you know? No. And I’m like, why do you say that? He goes, well, you just kinda have a belly.
[00:06:44] Detective Ev: Nothing to build your confidence like kids, you know?
[00:06:46] Kim Del Castillo: Yes. So, I went to the GI doctor. They said your celiac sprue is kind of high, you might want to cut out gluten.
They didn’t tell me like, you have celiac disease, and your microvilli are going to be paralyzed. Keep eating it, right? It’s like you’re getting no nutrition. They don’t go into that. They’re just like, your celiac sprue is high, cut out gluten. So, I did.
And then I did an elimination diet. You know, I was always into like detoxes and stuff. I did the elimination diet and cut out gluten. Coming out of it, I thought, you know I’m going to have some Dabeli. That’s good. Fresh herbs and wheat bulgur, whatever’s in there. And instantly, Evan, I was like four months pregnant again where I’m like, okay, this is a thing.
So, I cut out gluten. And psoriasis that I had had for 10 years went away, my arthritis went away. I didn’t have always arthritis, I had pizza and cookies, arthritis. If I’d eat either of those, I’d have arthritis in my wrist. So, I’m like, this is my thing. Food is what’s making me so sick.
IBS: Linked to Shame
I kind of noticed with my son when he was younger, if he didn’t eat what I fed him, he’d come home with like dark circles, you know? And so, food really is my family’s thing, right? And our autoimmune things are linked with it.
[00:08:16] Detective Ev: Alright. I always find this part really fascinating because, of course, this podcast is story based, but it’s supposed to be educational with these stories. And I think one thing to already learn here is, okay, 32 is when you initially answered the question as this is when it started. But we go back eight years, which is a fourth of your life at that point, that’s when the IBS diagnosis happened.
Then you had talked about the psoriasis for 10 years. Was the psoriasis even earlier than the IBS, or am I incorrect in the timeline?
[00:08:45] Kim Del Castillo: Psoriasis was, yes, earlier than the IBS. And this is something, I didn’t know if I’d go into it or not. But a lot of IBS, I’ve found, and I’ve learned, is linked to shame, feelings of shame, and you feel it in your gut.
Now, right before I was diagnosed with IBS, I was a single mom, pregnant. I didn’t really feel ashamed, but I do feel like your family shames you. People in the store shame you when they look, they see you’re pregnant and you’re not wearing a ring. You internalize that in your gut, you know?
So, right after having this son, who’s like a gift, who’s awesome, you know, he’s 23 now, right after having him was the first time I was diagnosed with IBS.
IBS: Warning Signs
[00:09:38] Detective Ev: You did not mention that. So, thank you, actually, for sharing that because I really appreciate when people get on here and are just transparent about what was going on in their mind at the time. Because that’s the stuff that relates to people.
You and I have talked about it before privately, but no, I’ve never heard anyone say that on the podcast, and it makes total sense. I’m sure there’s a variety of reasons for this, but it’s very common to hear a story of a woman being pregnant or giving birth and then a diagnosis comes out. Right? Especially with like the thyroid stuff, that happens a lot.
But my original point is, the psoriasis was even before the IBS. So, before we really start getting serious about the health stuff or looking at it as a major issue, there’s over 10 years of things going on. Then I’m curious. You know, youth and teenage years, did you have stomach issues or random headaches or skin stuff, or did you feel overall pretty good in youth and teens?
[00:10:26] Kim Del Castillo: I felt pretty good. I didn’t have acne. You know, I didn’t really have things going on when I was young.
[00:10:32] Detective Ev: Okay. So still, we have about 10 years before the major stuff starts coming out, depending on how you define major. And I think this is one of the biggest learning experiences for people listening to the show, this stuff has warning signs.
Like there’s always something going on beforehand, normally, and some of this stuff gets looked at as small. Like if you just have a patch of psoriasis and you go into the doctor that really is not looked at as a big deal.
IBS: The Light Bulb Moment
Well, it’s like, okay, there could be an autoimmune component to that. Not always, but some of it can be autoimmune. And it’s certainly a warning sign from the body if nothing else. So, that’s that check engine light popping on.
And what we will get told a lot of the times by Western medicine is put the cream on it or whatever. That is the equivalent, basically, of putting the tape over the check engine light. Well, that’s not going to work long term, but it can stall us for a few days or a few weeks until whatever problem is going on that’s leading to the light popping up leads to something else manifesting. Definitely a lesson in and of that.
So, you started out with the gluten thing, which thankfully was actually recommended by a Western person. How did that help evolve into you becoming like an FDN practitioner? Now, I know there’s probably quite a bit in that transition, but you weren’t doing the natural health thing before this. So, how did a simple recommendation of removing gluten lead to like studying natural health and what did the next steps look like?
[00:11:50] Kim Del Castillo: Well, I honestly think that was divinely appointed, where this light bulb goes off and I kinda suspected that food had more to do with at least my son coming home with dark circles under his eye. But removing that and feeling such a weight lifted off from just one food. Right? And I love bread. Like, I love bread. And a year later, dairy was gone, and I love cheese.
IBS: Looking into Other Things
But when you feel better and more alive in your body and you have the energy and don’t get bloated after every meal, and you don’t have to run to the bathroom, that’s embarrassing, you know?
It really was debilitating because I couldn’t go for a walk with my family. Like we used to hike around and all of a sudden, I’m like, I can’t go. And I don’t want to drive to the coast because when we’re waiting for the ferry, there’s no bathroom. I mean, you could become really conscious of like, where am I going to be able to get to the bathroom quickly? So, to go from that to feeling good and being able to go out and do things and not stress about finding a bathroom, it’s worth it. Right?
Then you’re starting to look into other things. Like, well, what about paleo? Or what about eating raw or vegan? I mean, I’ve tried them all. Some of it has been beneficial and some of it has not been. That’s just based on your bio individuality. You know, some people thrive on paleo, some people thrive on keto, some people thrive on vegan. I don’t know. You know, if you can make it work, right?
But I just play around with food. That’s what I like to do now.
[00:13:36] Detective Ev: Yeah. It’s a side note for now, but again, this is what’s nice about being friends before the podcast cause you can go on side notes without it being rude. It’s more just fun. The vegan thing’s tough because I have seen, it’s almost like there’s something there, but it’s just missing a component or two, which is probably the meat.
IBS: Premature Deaths Despite Raw Vegan Diet
It’s actually sad. I now have the second person in my life that was raw vegan, long term, like over 10 years, and they passed away prematurely despite having had initial results that were amazing.
So, it was, again, a really good friend of mine. She was the first person I ever did a professional talk with. Loved her to death. And it was so funny because she passed away at like 62 years old. We looked so funny hanging out cause we really hung out as friends. We would just go grab coffee together. But she had so much life in her, so much energy, you know? And I’m hanging out with her at like 21 years old. She was probably late fifties at the time, we just got along so well.
That’s what was weird too, because if you looked at her from the outside, she actually looked great. She looked healthy and young, had the vibrancy, had the energy, and yet she got destroyed health wise in a very rapid period of time. And she passed away just late last year. It was like in late December. Again, she was only early sixties. So, that was super weird. That’s not even the life expectancy. And I mean, look at how most Americans are living.
Then my friend, Angelo, he owned a really high-quality juice shop. Like, he made all these special tonics for people. He made something, man, I tore my ligament in my wrist, and he made this special concoction for me for anti-inflammation and like healing. Really, he was a pharmacist before this and then got transitioned. This guy looked probably 25 years younger than he was. His skin was perfect. And he passed away from a heart attack at like 58.
IBS: Doing Vegan for a Time of Healing
You see these people though, and I’m like, they were so full of life for their age, they looked fantastic. But then they end up dying in a very sudden fashion.
The vegan thing’s so tough cause it seems like there’s something there. Like, they’re getting something from it that’s working, but it’s missing that component. You know, Connie, my friend, cured breast cancer with this. She did not go to Western medicine. Actually, she went down to the Hippocrates Healing Institute in Florida. Went there, healed breast cancer.
So, if you get a breast cancer diagnosis and it goes away from a raw vegan diet, what are you probably going to eat like the rest of your life? Of course, you’re going to eat raw vegan, you’re scared. I can sympathize with that. It’s just sad that sometimes those things happen, so forgive me. But it doesn’t come up enough in this show, actually.
[00:15:59] Kim Del Castillo: You know, I started doing a vegan juicing and ended up doing like soups, pureed soups to heal something and it was amazing for me. I went back to it a couple years ago and it like killed all my hormones. My hormones just all went to pot, because I wasn’t supporting them. And I wasn’t just doing raw vegan, I was doing soups and stuff too.
You might be able to go vegan for a time for healing. But what I want people to kind of realize is just because something sustains you at some point in your life, it might not sustain you at another point in your life. Especially if you’re a woman but I think it applies for men too.
IBS: Do Women Handle Vegan Better than Men Do?
All the food studies are done on men because women were basically like four different people. You know, we have our different cycle times and we’re really hard to study. They didn’t start studying women till, I believe it was 1997, for these health-related studies. Men are easier. So, general dietary and workout guidelines are based on studies done on men. And we’re different. We’re not the same.
[00:17:15] Detective Ev: Yeah. Well, I do agree with that. It makes sense, I guess.
I didn’t know that women were studied that much later than men. It’s obviously different, just look at a historical, theoretical perspective. When I have a male that goes vegan, it’s like they change their personality. They really don’t seem to do well at all, universally. Maybe they look good, that’s about it. But something changes in them. Where like certain women do seem to be able to maintain it longer.
And then I think about this from a nature perspective. If the theories are correct and the men were going out hunting and the women were supposedly protected and stayed with the babies and stuff like that, well, maybe the women were foraging while the men were hunting. Right? It would make sense that the men almost like have longer fasting times, first of all. And they’re going to get more meat in their diet probably.
Whereas like the women, yes they’d have meat, but you know, they’re scavenging throughout the day. That’s Ev theory, don’t quote me on that one. I haven’t read a study on that. But I’ve always thought like maybe that’s why they seem to do a little better than men would when they go vegan, but it’s a separate thing.
IBS: Food Sensitivity Testing
So, what did you end up finding overall that’s been most beneficial for you diet wise? And I know some of that’s probably been learned through FDN. So, if you find it appropriate, we can transition to the FDN side because I’m also curious like how long it took from 32 years old to go to FDN. I know that’s like seven questions in one.
[00:18:36] Kim Del Castillo: Yeah. So, 32, finish my degree in communications with honors because I wasn’t there when I was in my twenties. And again, working super hard at my own schooling, my children’s schooling. Then just researching and talking to people who were kind of already in a health mindset with food or just trying different things.
Paleo was pretty hot back then, so I tried that, you know. But corn is a big trigger for me. So, the MRT is the lab I like to run. I ran it a couple years ago. Then I just did it again because, actually, and I’m pretty sure it’s cause I just went to New York City and they have small kitchens, I got psoriasis on my arm. I haven’t had it in, you know. So, I’m like, something cross-contamination, I’m sure. But let me just check and see what shows up.
And what I thought was cool was to see the similarities, right? So, wheat used to be red. Systemically I was on fire. But we know wheat bothers my gut, so I wasn’t eating it. That’s another thing I like about the MRT. You don’t have to be eating it for it to show up.
IBS: Nightshades/Gluten/Soy/Diary-Free
But this time, through some gut healing and stuff, wheat showed up as yellow. So, systemically, not as much of an issue. But corn is still there and millet’s still there. And I kind of like to see the similarities.
Now and funny enough, the arthritis came back. Haven’t had that in years. So, like, I’m thinking leaky gut, I’m back where I was. But luckily, I’ve done some healing. But solanine showed up, right? So, now nightshades, which is linked to rheumatoid arthritis, just for three months, I’ve got to remove that stuff and try to reintroduce it, right?
That’s what I’m doing right now, nightshade free, gluten free, soy free, dairy free.
[00:20:37] Detective Ev: Nice. I can’t imagine that I would be trusting anywhere in New York City, so that’s tough. Cause if like you’re going out with friends or family or whatever, it’s like, what are you supposed to do? Like, not have anything.
I mean I’m only, as you know, an hour and a half from there. The city’s just overwhelming in and of itself. Being there is enough to give you a freaking psoriasis outbreak, let alone eating their food. Like, it’s just a lot. Cool. Thank you for answering that question.
The other thing then would be, how long did it take from you going, food really does matter more than just the intuitive thing that you had with your son, but realizing, no, it matters for me, this is making a major difference in my health, to becoming an FDN practitioner.
Did you get any other certifications along the way? I actually don’t know that. Or did you just find FDN?
IBS: Doing the Inner Work
[00:21:16] Kim Del Castillo: Yeah, I did. I went to Institute of Integrative Nutrition.
What I love about that, so that’s a coaching school. You learn how to coach clients and they really incorporate the lifestyle. Their pillars of primary food is like career and relationships and finances and things like that. You do a lot of mindset work when you’re doing the school. So, as I was going through that school, I was doing a lot of inner work.
And I had already signed up for FDN because I’m like, I want to coach people and I want to run the labs. I don’t want to just help them reach their goals through talking, which I do that because I am a coach. But I want to show them this is what’s going on. Because I think people like the labs. They like to see, they don’t want to just trust you, you know what I’m saying?
[00:22:11] Detective Ev: Yeah. It matters too. Both of them matter.
[00:22:14] Kim Del Castillo: Yeah. But the last part of my healing journey was actually in that transition when I signed up for IIN and FDN. And I knew the labs were going to help. But the mindset where I realized a lot of my gut things are in my head, you know, I was pretty well healed, but not completely.
You know, I had anxiety because when you’re rushing to a bathroom, if you even feel like you need to go to the bathroom, all of a sudden you get hot and you’re like, oh my gosh, I’m getting anxious.
IBS: Mindset Matters
Well, then I learned how to breathe through that and how to do intentional deep breathing, just switch my mindset. Like, this is not my issue anymore. I’ve got to drop this cause I’m telling myself this story. You know, I’ve done the work for the healing, but your mind has to get to that place of healing as well. You know?
[00:23:10] Detective Ev: Actually, I know that identically. I shouldn’t say identically cause it was a different condition, but it’s almost weird how much the mindset stuff can still matter.
I will never forget the first time that I had an experience with that. It was like four years ago maybe, and I said something about acne. I said, well, like someone like me or someone with this, or whatever I said. And he’s like, what are you talking about? I’m like, well, you know, like with the skin issues and stuff. He’s like, dude, your skin looks great. Like, certainly no worse than any average 20-year-old. You know what I mean?
It was a realization that, oh, I’m perceiving myself. That was a physical thing that you think I should or shouldn’t be able to see in the mirror. But in my head, like any acne, one pimple meant just as bad as I was before. And you’ve seen my transformation photos. Obviously, one pimple is nowhere close to what that was before. But I had it in my head that, no, that’s who I am and that’s what I have.
Man, those identities, that gets a little scary. Cause you can maintain symptoms sometimes that don’t belong with you anymore. They’re not there, but you’re thinking that it exists.
IBS: Talking to Myself Differently
I actually looked it up. I don’t think I have this to be clear, but there is something called acne dysphoria. It’s like the body dysphoria thing. So, you know how like bodybuilders sometimes will literally not believe that they’re massive, even though they walk around bigger than 99% of people and they keep needing to gain weight. Similarly, you could have someone suffering with anorexia who believes that they keep needing to losing weight.
And with the acne side, what happens is it’s people who had severe cases, they think that they still have really bad skin. When everyone else is like, dude, you look fairly normal. You’re not a GQ model, but you know, you look better than you did before. And I was like, wow, I didn’t think that could happen to me.
But yeah, I mean this is something that people don’t talk about with the mindset side. So, how did you get past that?
[00:24:52] Kim Del Castillo: You know, talking to myself differently.
This is a cool part about being an FDN and being in this holistic space. We’re not like, here’s your diagnosis and here’s your pill, I’ll see you in a year. Right? We’re working with people and we’re listening, listening to them with intentionality. Like, what are you saying and what are you not saying?
But you have these paths that go to like, I am this, I am this. And it starts from when you’re a kid. Some of the things you don’t even know, you know, the things you’re telling yourself. So, I was just being intentional on my walks, in my quiet time, listening to anything negative. And honestly just saying to those negative things, like, that’s not me.
IBS: Focusing on Positive Messages
Like, I’m a positive person, so I don’t know where that’s coming from, but that’s not coming from me. So, just rewiring those pathways. And then you know, I do brain tap. I love brain tap. But just like get those positive messages in your head. And that, thank you for that, cause you were like, you have to try this.
[00:26:01] Detective Ev: Shout out to Dr. Patrick Porter, baby.
[00:26:02] Kim Del Castillo: Yes. So I mean, using tools is helpful if you can’t do it on your own. You know, some people write notes on their mirror. But just anytime you hear that negative voice or that voice that’s like, you know, you suffer from IBS. I’m like, no, I don’t. Like, I’ve done the healing. Right?
I was just driving to a retreat, and it was like three hours in the Texas country. And I’m like, I got to do a reel about this. Like, I would never have gone to this retreat. I mean it brought peace back to my life. Just a weekend of being with women and not having agendas and not having to do things.
And I wouldn’t have done that cause I wouldn’t have wanted to drive. Cause I would’ve been like, I need to pull over and knock on that person’s door in the middle of the country to use their bathroom or find a tree. You know?
So, you just have to, just talking yourself differently, you know?
[00:26:57] Detective Ev: Yeah. I don’t want to advise people of something that I actually don’t personally do. Maybe I should apply it more. But I’m really big into personal development as you know.
IBS: Working Through Things & Getting Stronger
One of the things I never fully adopted was the journaling side. And this is not to say I’m against it. I just, for whatever reason, never did adopt it. But I think journaling or pictures, if pictures are relevant to your case, obviously we don’t need to see a picture of IBS. But if someone was journaling about it, like, okay, I went to the bathroom freaking 15 times today. But then six months in, you’re like, I went six today. That’s tracking, and I think that can help us with the mindset side.
That’s what helped me when I looked at photos. I like literally did a side-by-side comparison. Like, dude, what are you talking about? You don’t look anything like you looked before. This is unrecognizable, so you need to stop being so hard on yourself about this.
And then this one’s very tough in the moment. I don’t know how I would’ve been able to fully embody this back then. So again, I don’t want to speak from a place of ignorance because it’s harder in the moment. But also, remembering too that our self-worth is not dictated around these conditions.
And again, that’s very hard to do with acne. Because guess what? People will or won’t date you if you have a severe case of cystic acne. And that’s just biology. I mean, that’s fair. But at the same time, my worth as a human being is not less just because I’m dealing with this right now. I’m experiencing something, I can work through it. I’m going to come out stronger on the other side.
IBS: Self-Worth Isn’t Dictated by Conditions
But I don’t need to have less confidence in one-on-one interactions with a male. I’m a heterosexual dude, right? I don’t need to also lessen my confidence talking to another straight male. That’s crazy. You know, I’m still me and I can bring just as much value to his life and vice versa as friends with or without the acne.
Now again, there’s objective truths. If I try to go hit on someone when I had that, no, it probably wouldn’t have worked as well to be dead honest, right? Because it’s not particularly attractive. But we don’t have to go so extreme with it either and think that everyone looks down on us.
I was embarrassed in front of my family as if they give a crap that I have pimples. Or if your family gives a crap that you had to go to the bathroom, that’s not why they love us or care about us. So, it’s also just remembering too, that our self-worth isn’t dictated by these conditions at all.
[00:28:56] Kim Del Castillo: Yeah. And to be fair, some people of the opposite sex probably saw your personality and not your pimples. I mean, people can overlook things like that, you know. Not everyone was like, ah, pimple face.
[00:29:09] Detective Ev: I know. I just try to be realistic cause I don’t want to sound too cheesy on the podcast. Like, I’m not stupid. I mean, this sounds terrible probably. I probably wouldn’t have dated someone or pursued someone that had the level of skin issues that I had.
Now it’s different if you’re with a partner for a while and they develop something. I mean, love can conquer all. But there is biology, there is initial attraction, and I totally get that.
IBS: A Personal Development Journey
In fact, the skin, if you think about it from a biological perspective, it’s warning the potential mate that, hey, this person’s body isn’t doing well. This is not good for procreation.
You and I are spiritual people, and we actually might talk about that in a little bit. I don’t want to limit us to just the biology, but that is still a very real aspect of this 3D world. And the skin issues are warning other mates that, no, this is not a good person to procreate with cause they have so much going on. So, we could cry about it, or we could not let it dictate our self-worth and look at it as a growing opportunity.
And I think there’s a lesson there. If you come out on the other side, the best part is this was a personal development journey as much as it was a health journey. I say that to everyone even on client calls, right? I’m trying to get their mindset before I sell them on an FDN package. Because yes, it’d be great to have you in FDN, but I need to make sure your mindset’s in the right place because you are going to transform as a human as much as your health will transform.
There are things that you’re going to have to change right now that’ll lead you to success. And as you and I both know; it is not particularly easy to change as a human. That’s not really our default state. Look at what we had to go through before we start making the real changes.
Kim Del Castillo: Right. Yeah.
Detective Ev: Cool.
The FDN Course Experience
So, when you went through FDN, Kim, I don’t know if you remember this off the top of your head, but what did you like about the program? If you have constructive criticism, we always open up the floor for that. If you don’t have any, that’s fine, but we always open up the floor for that too.
What did you find on the labs? I’m just curious what your experience was with the FDN program when you were going through it.
[00:30:56] Kim Del Castillo: Yeah. Well, I love FDN. I surprise myself because I love the science and the data. I’m like, who am I? You know? I am like a data junkie all of a sudden.
But I like how Reed teaches. I mean, it’s just almost as casual as this, except for your learning deep concepts, right? He’s just talking. You might laugh or he’ll crack a joke. My son walked through, and he was like, this is the kind of class I’d want to attend, you know? Cause you’re learning deep level things, but he’s not monotone.
I’ve also taken classes where they’re just like this, you know. And you’re like, oh my gosh, can I speed them up? Because no, I can’t on this course. But you can on Reed. You can make him go faster or slower if you want. Which is good cause sometimes you want it to slow down to really write your notes in. And sometimes you want to speed it up cause you can get your notes in quick enough.
But I love the support as a trainee. There are calls and you’re talking to Reed every Friday. I mean, what other program is the director going to be on?
Abundant FDN Community Support
[00:32:05] Detective Ev: I’ll add to that. It is nuts that he does that. That’s not just us kissing butt or hyping him up. I mean, this guy is 70 at this point. He has done what he needs to do.
I shouldn’t say FDN can run itself because he’s such a leader with it, that would be incorrect to say. Like, I don’t want to discredit his vision that he still brings. But he’s put some really great people in the right places and they’re all FDNs for the most part. So, I do believe the company could figure it out even without him. It’d be sad, but we could do that. Yet, he still shows up for the trainees every week. He shows up for the graduates every week. You’re right. Where else does that happen?
[00:32:38] Kim Del Castillo: Yeah, he likes it, you know? He likes staying out and that sets the community up. He’s even at these conferences.
I mean his vision and his personality, it’s transferred down to the trainees. Right? Because you’re like, this is a school that cares. These people want me to succeed. They’re giving me tools. I still get tools. I’m in the AFDNP now, and I’m still community. We’re colleagues, we’re helping each other out. People have questions, they get on there. So, the community of FDN is huge for me. And working these conferences, the community there is amazing.
But that’s like a vision caster, right? Where Reed is teaching, but he’ll say, anything you guys want, you let me know. You know? And when you’re in person with him, who says that? It’s not just FDNs. It is a business, and it is a school, but there’s something else that’s just more personal, like connection.
Selling Our Way Through Life
[00:33:41] Detective Ev: It translates into how the practitioners do their business. Because there is nothing wrong with charging an appropriate amount when you are doing the right thing and you’re providing a good service to people. You know?
I mean, I believe the FDN core certification is grossly under price, especially compared to other stuff out there. But even if it was double the price, let’s say, when the intention is correct and when you’re actually, again, caring about people that much and making sure that they’re constantly getting more value, that’s a good way to do business.
I think a lot of people, and I know our practitioners, unfortunately a fraction of them kind of get this, they’re afraid of the selling aspect. They’re afraid of the business aspect. They’ve been told since day one that anyone who sells anything is inherently wrong or bad, even though we’re constantly selling our way through life.
If you’ve ever dated someone, you are a salesperson. If you have ever gotten a job, you are a salesperson. We don’t think about it like that, but that’s what it is.
So then, if everyone’s subject to being a salesperson of sorts, you can choose to be a good one, or you can choose to be a bad one. Bad ones lie, they manipulate, they don’t engage in ethical deals or even deals. I shouldn’t say even, nothing’s going to be even, but it can be fair. A good one tells the truth, even when it’s not favorable. And they try to make a fair deal even if it’s not perfectly even. Right?
I think, yeah, that’s where Reed, it really spreads down to everyone else.
So Much to Gain
And one of the reasons that the program constantly gets these updates and upgrades is because he does ask people, what do you want next? What do you want to see?
If you go through FDN, you get what’s called a postgraduate interview. And now finally, finally, they aren’t with Reed anymore. Cause I’m like, how is this guy still doing this? He did the first, I think it was, 2000 or 3000 graduate interviews. Now these are 30 minutes of pop, which doesn’t seem like much. But it’s like you add that up over time, it’s like the dude’s done 1500 hours of just post-grad interviewing where he’s asking you, where can I do better? That’s the only reason. You know, it is cool.
And then, we get lifetime access to all the updates of FDN, which is one of my favorite parts. These people are going to think I’m lying, eventually. I say my favorite parts are my favorite part for so many different things on this podcast. I swear it’s just cause I love FDN. It’s not because I’m lying. But I’m glad that you felt supported during the course.
[00:35:48] Kim Del Castillo: And then not to mention the labs included in the course. You’re doing R&Rs, results and recommendations, with mentors, and kinda learning what it looks like to be an FDN, learning with you being the client. There’s a lot to gain from that as well. And to learn where you are, where your cortisol levels are, and your hormones. It’s super interesting.
[00:36:13] Detective Ev: Do you remember anything significant that came up on the labs for you when you went through FDN?
Hormone Testing
[00:36:18] Kim Del Castillo: Yeah. That’s when I learned all my hormones were shot. I mean, I was like, whoa. Cause you know, your gynecologist doesn’t necessarily run those labs unless you ask them to.
I asked years ago, because my friends were like, you need a baseline. I’m like, okay. But she was like, well, what do you want to run? I’m like, I don’t know. I want a baseline. I don’t even know at this point what hormones are important. So yeah, there was a lot that came out of that.
You know, it made sense why my energy was low and why I was losing muscle mass. I was doing the same workouts, even doing more, and I’m like, all of a sudden, I don’t have muscle. Well, cause I didn’t have testosterone, you know. It was going away.
[00:37:01] Detective Ev: I think it’s very nice that, one, people just get to run the labs while going through the course. But two, it’s very insightful because so many people do come to the course being health oriented. It’s very rare that we get a trainee that this is like the first thing that they did. Normally, they have been trying things for years.
And it’s not to scare anyone, but you’d be surprised by how many people like myself and like Kim come into this thing and you run the hormone test. You’re like, okay. I still have a ton of work to do. And I actually rejoice in that personally because I see that as more opportunities, more ways to get better before I get a serious diagnosis or something bad happens long term. You know, our modern world’s very complicated and there’s a lot up against us.
Transitioning from Stay-at-Home Mom to FDN Practitioner
But I do think if we’re intelligent with these tests and we’re doing them regularly, it is my personal belief that we can avoid a lot of the more serious things that can come to us in life. And who knows? I mean, again, our world’s so crazy now with the health stuff that, I mean, I have the window open today and just the air we know is toxic, right? Maybe there’s just some things I can’t beat. But I think it’s fair to say that I have a lot better chance than most people that aren’t doing these tests and aren’t living kind of an FDN oriented lifestyle.
I never actually asked you this before, I guess, cause you were doing the stay-at-home mom thing. Was your first career outside of the stay-at-home mom thing being an FDN?
Kim Del Castillo: Pretty much. Yeah.
Detective Ev: Nice. That’s awesome. See, that’s cool. From mom to FDN, I love it.
So, how is that transition? Because we have people that go from employee to business owner that already have enough limiting beliefs and stuff like that. For you, that’s a major shift. It’s certainly less work, actually, but it’s a major shift in terms of your mindset around what you’re doing on a daily basis.
Was it intimidating in the beginning trying to get clients?
[00:38:39] Kim Del Castillo: You know, I’m a bit of a self-promoter. I found that out. Like, I tell people what I’m doing. I’m just authentic. Like I just told you about my IBS story, right? I told a bunch of people; I don’t even know how many people I just told.
A Tragedy
But you know, I like to tell people what I’m doing. If I’m excited about something, I’m talking about it. So, people were watching me and my journey. Like, hey, I’m doing this, I’m learning this, I’m doing IIN, I’m doing FDN. And so, I had like 10 people before I even graduated that sent me some kind of message and said, I want to work with you. Because there’s value in what we do, you know.
They were pretty much all women my age, that, we’ve given our whole lives to our kids, and we haven’t taken care of ourselves the way we should. Right? So, we’re exhausted all the time. Like we’re fatigued, we have symptoms, whatever.
So, those 10 people didn’t sign up to work with me right away. But yeah, it was a little intimidating because a lot of what you talked about with that sales thing being like kind of icky and like, I don’t want to sell to my friends, and I don’t want to overcharge them.
But my mindset around it now is I don’t want to overcharge people, but I don’t mind selling to people because I’m helping them. It would be a tragedy to be like, ah, I can’t do this, and I don’t have the tools. I’m just going to have to send you to someone who’s going to look at you as this number, right? You get five minutes to explain all these issues.
You know, when I do a qualifying call, it usually takes an hour. I do a quick little blurb if they’ve been referred. Did so and so tell you how I work? If not here’s the basic thing.
Taking the Pressure Off
And then I spend an hour just going, okay, so tell me more about that. When did that start and what did that look like for you? What was going on in your life? And I love it. It energizes me.
And whether they can afford to work with me at the moment or not doesn’t really affect me. Because I’m energized by the potential of helping them now, or six months from now. I’m there, and they know I’m there and they know what I can do for them.
And you know, you and I have talked about this, but this is God’s business. That’s another thing that really takes the pressure off of me because I just pray about it. I’m like, God, bring me people I can help. The people I can’t help, I don’t want them to sign up because I want to be successful, and I want them to be successful. If they’re not successful, I’m not successful. Right?
But if this is Your business and You’re bringing the people that I need to work with, the people that I can reach, I can’t reach everyone. I’m not for everyone. You know, I have a certain personality and I jive with a lot of people but not everyone. You know? So let those people go to someone that can help them. I’m not trying to get all this business to be with people that I can’t help.
Just giving it to God takes all the pressure off of me. Because first of all, you say, ask for wisdom and I won’t withhold it from you. So, I’m asking for wisdom on all these people. I’m praying before qualifying calls because that’s just who I am.
How Can It Hurt?
Everything in my life is because of God, that’s how I see it. So, this is because of God. I had to go through something painful. But when you go through something painful and something uncomfortable, that’s usually when you grow. You either stay stagnant and stay in that forever, or you decide, this isn’t my life. This isn’t my destiny, I want to grow.
[00:42:27] Detective Ev: I love that.
Listen, just in case it’s someone’s first time listening, you know, everyone comes on here and shares their story in their own authentic way. That’s actually what we want to do. We have people that take a more new age, spiritual approach, and talked about mushroom trips and all this stuff. I don’t even mean it in a funny way. It’s like, really that is their spirituality and that’s totally fine. We have people that are Muslim, come on. We have people that, again, kind of new age, Buddhist type of thing come on. It doesn’t really matter to me.
I think there’s a practical side to what you just said. Like, let’s say, again, you didn’t believe this stuff. The idea that you are centering yourself and doing some form of prayer or just a nice offering, talking with something before you’re on these calls or trying to put those thoughts out into the world, that, hey, I only want to attract people that I can help, I think, how can that hurt?
I can understand, cause you know I came from actually, even though I’m not anymore, I came from an atheist background. I can understand how someone doesn’t believe that it helps, but how can it hurt? You know what else are you going to be thinking about?
Planting Good Intentions, Reaping Good Results
[00:43:23] Kim Del Castillo: The science behind having a spiritual practice is, it helps. I do believe we’re made of energy. Right? And so, if I’m putting positive energy and I’m putting my intentions on something that’s going to change, it’s going to change the communication and whatever.
There’s a lot of things too that, and I might turn some Christians off here, but there’s a lot of things that Christians see as new age. They’re not. They’ve been around forever, right? And they’ve been helping people for thousands of years. So, things like quantum physics, you know, our energy and our intentions, that matters.
I’ve never micro dosed mushrooms, although it’s fascinating to me cause I’ve talked to people who have. I’m like, okay. Well, like I want to know more about that. But we all have different ways that we practice being outside of our visceral body. Or you should, you know. And it could be journaling, that could be the way you get outside.
So, yeah. If you’re putting good intentions towards something, yeah, I think you’re going to reap good results. Absolutely.
[00:44:38] Detective Ev: That’s what I mean. It’s like, looking at things in that light or looking at things like they happen for a reason, even if you can’t prove it, still seems to benefit your life.
Long before I developed the spiritual beliefs at like 18 because of books that I was reading, I started to get into this mindset of, okay, what if I just acted like the mental health stuff happened to me for a reason? How would I think? How would I go about my day? And it still led to a better life even though at that moment the real belief wasn’t there.
Where to Find Kim Del Castillo
It wasn’t an authentic spiritual belief; it was just a thought. What if I acted like this? Your life still ends up being better anyway, and you end up supporting and helping more people.
As we are closing out our time here a little bit, Kim, one of the things I wanted to ask you of course, is where people can find you, but also who do you serve? I know that FDNs, we can technically work with a large variety of people, but who is your ideal client? What do they look like? What are they dealing with?
[00:45:30] Kim Del Castillo: Okay. So, you can find me at www.luxhealthstyle.com. It’s the same handle on Instagram and Facebook, although Instagram‘s probably more where you’ll see me.
And my ideal client, you know, I’ve tried to like niche down, right? Like gut health. I help women in their forties with gut health and hormone. But I attract men and I attract women. And there’s no commonality, you know, hives, thyroid issues, cancer, I mean, all kinds of things, I don’t know.
So, honestly, my ideal client is someone who is like, I’m sick of taking over the counter drugs all the time for this symptom. You know, I’m sick of going to the doctor and not being heard. I want someone to really pay attention to what is going on in my life and to know me, to give me something that is customized for me, my lifestyle, my results. And honestly, it’s like the person who’s like, how many more Tums can I take?
Willing to Do Whatever it Takes
I have a client who was taking six Allegra for hives, but still has hives. She doesn’t now cause she’s gone through my protocol. Right? So, you know, it’s like, if you’re taking something for whatever’s going on and it’s not helping you, there’s something deeper.
That’s what I want to do, and that’s my ideal client. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, you know, in your twenties or your fifties or your eighties. Are you ready to feel better? Are you ready to optimize your vitality? That’s who I want to see.
But you have to do the work. I don’t want to see you if you’re not on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being I will do anything it takes, you have to be a 9 or 10. That’s my person.
[00:47:30] Detective Ev: Awesome. I love that. Okay, cool. Well, we will have the links that you mentioned in the show notes below.
And if you’ve listened to any of the podcasts fully, I know not everyone gets through the entire thing, but you’ll already know what question I’m about to ask. It is the signature question to finish this up today. And the question is, if I could give you, in this case, a magic wand and you could wave it and get every single person in the world to either do one thing for their health or you could choose to get them to stop doing one thing, what is the one thing that Kim would get them to do?
[00:48:00] Kim Del Castillo: One thing is so hard. Oh my gosh. I have like five things.
[00:48:06] Detective Ev: I’ve had people list off a couple. I won’t penalize you.
Eliminate Gluten, Deep Breathe, Stop Negativity
[00:48:09] Kim Del Castillo: So, I can do more than one?
[00:48:12] Detective Ev: Off the record you can. Yes.
[00:48:17] Kim Del Castillo: Let me give you three things.
Get rid of gluten, any form of gluten, especially if you live in the United States of America.
Do deep breathing. That’s huge, that is so healing. Take in deep breaths and exhale deep breaths. Tell your body I’m not under stress. Cause your brain is like, oh, cool, you’re taking deep breaths, you must not be stressed. And it helps your nervous system.
The third thing is when you hear those negative thoughts, tell them to shut up. Give it a name. I mean, be like, Betsy, you’ve said enough today. You know, like, that’s not you. Don’t listen to it. That might have been your parents, your teachers, whatever, but that’s not you. So, tell that to shut up. And that’s it. That’s what I have to say.
[00:49:07] Detective Ev: I love it. Kim, thank you so much for coming on today. I’m looking forward to whatever next conference we end up doing together.
[00:49:13] Kim Del Castillo: Yeah, absolutely. Me too. Thank you.
Conclusion
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