Impact of Alcohol: Samantha’s Bio
St. Louis, Missouri-based single mom, recovering addict, prison survivor, personal trainer, functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner, DJ, and entrepreneur
Published Dream Big, Do Bigger, and is an international best selling author
Used FDN to heal herself from allergies, food sensitivities, heavy metals, mold, hormonal imbalances (specifically PCOS), mouth trauma and infections, and several parasites
Got “sick and tired of being sick and tired”
Doctors said she was fine, but she followed her gut
Impact of Alcohol: Samantha’s Health Journey
Chronic GI issues started around 5th grade
Chronic fatigue started in middle school, along with constipation and diarrhea
Was an elite athlete doing a lot of cardio, which put stress on her body
Got put on a lot of antibiotics, which wrecked havoc on her gut
Had a deviated septum, sinus infections, allergies
In college, she was a blackout drinker and her drinking was never normal
After a stressful breakup, she moved to California and was introduced to more drugs
Started using meth which helped her ADHD and gave her energy
Eventually became a DJ and sold drugs
Impact of Alcohol: Samantha’s Recovery Journey
- Samantha got “sick and tired of being sick and tired” and knew she needed to make a change
- She went to rehab and got sober, which was a huge turning point for her
- Even though she faced jail time, she was at peace because she was finally sober
- Her higher power was trying to wake her up and get her on the right path
- In rehab she was able to start working out and eating healthy again
- She went to prison for 27 months, stayed sober, and kept working out and eating clean
- After prison she became a personal trainer but still struggled with health issues like chronic diarrhea, weight gain, and irregular periods
- A friend suggested she try food sensitivity testing, which uncovered many issues
- After doing more lab tests like the Biohealth spit test and stool test, she started to feel better
- She realized there was more to health than just diet and exercise
- This led her to become a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition practitioner to help her clients in a deeper way
- She also took the courses to save money on labs for herself
- This gave her a passion for getting to the root cause of health issues
Impact of Alcohol: Key Points
Chronic drinking can lead to cortisol issues and disruption of the gut microbiome ([00:21:33] – [00:22:30])
Alcohol impairs the body’s ability to detox and drainage pathways. The liver starts detoxing the body in the early morning after drinking. ([00:22:30])
Alcohol is always the first thing the body tries to detox, even before other toxins. This disrupts sleep. ([00:22:30])
Alcohol causes estrogen dominance by preventing flushing out of excess hormones. It also disrupts neurotransmitters like dopamine. ([00:22:30])
Many use alcohol to self-medicate underlying issues. Sugar addiction serves a similar purpose. ([00:24:33] – [00:25:31])
Getting sober means having to feel everything that was being suppressed. Therapy and dealing with trauma is key. ([00:28:29] – [00:31:31])
There is shame around addiction, but it can be used to help others when you share your story. ([00:31:31])
Summary
Alcohol abuse can wreak havoc on hormones, neurotransmitters, sleep, and the gut. Many use it to cope with trauma and stress. Getting sober means facing the underlying issues through therapy and healing. Sharing your story helps destigmatize addiction.
More About FDN
You can always visit us at functionaldiagnosticnutrition.com, on YouTube @FDNtraining, on Instagram @fdntraining, or on Facebook @FunctionalDiagnosticNutrition.
For more informational and functional health-oriented podcasts like this one, go to functionaldiagnosticnutrition.com/health-detective-podcast/.
To learn more about us, go to functionaldiagnosticnutrition.com/about-fdn-functional-testing/.
