The Holistic Approach to Women’s Health and Hormonal Balance

Stress Relief and Joyful Habits 0:00

What are some things people can do to really give themselves not only less stress, but more joy? Yeah, that's an excellent question. Honestly, you can look at any stress management book or Google how to manage stress. All the common things are going to come up. Yoga, meditation, deep breathing, journaling, healthcare, the list goes on and on. I really just encourage people to find something that is enjoyable to them. When it feels like work or it feel like a struggle, then it's not going to be productive for them in helping to manage their stress levels.

Whatever that looks like, maybe it is a five minute meditation in the morning and at night before bed. Maybe it starting your day with a gratitude journal and maybe just identifying three things that you are grateful for. and ending your day with just a summary of how the day went.

Podcast Introduction and Guest Welcome 0:58

with real proven strategies, protocols and tools you can use in your practice today. Welcome back to your favorite podcast for health and wellness and natural healing. This is the Holistic Truth, soon to be the number one podcast in the world. So we are working our way there. and we're doing that by bringing incredible guests and partners on the show. I'm your host, as always, I am Jamie Dorley, CEO of Nutritional Frontiers, and, uh, we are on a mission to make the world healthy, And I do that with my partner in crime, the co-host, The One and Only, Christine Genovese.

How we doin', Christine? Oh my gosh, Jayme, I'm so excited today. We have a powerhouse of a guest. She doesn't have just one clinic where she operates, she's got three clinics and I don't know how she gets around and does everything that she does and, you know, has such an incredible impact in like three different locations. Well, don't remind us history because it may drive her insane. You know, sometimes we forget what we're doing and it's like, just keep doing it. And, you know she's been a friend, a colleague, mentor, VIP client for Nutritional Frontiers, but even more because she is a pioneer.

She went to the formerly Southwest. school of naturopathic health out in Arizona. And she is a licensed natropath in the state of PA. So that's courageous right there enough. She also works outside the city limits. You know, she's in Meadville, Grove City, now upstate New York, and the owner of Vitality. Natural Health and Wellness Center, and now, like you said, three locations. And I love the way she practices because, you know, the naturopathic, I've been working with natupaths all the back to Dr.

Franny Perez, who was in the first school, graduating class of Bistir back in late 70s. I always work very well with the Natuopaths because rather than running for the cure, They run for the cause. And I know she does a lot of testing for GI. You know, today we talk about women's health and hormones and, you know. She's just been a blessing to Western PA and now upstate New York and really to our team. Um, because she's very supportive and she also, um, also challenges at times, which we love. Because we always want to improve and you always does with the big smile on her face.

So let's give a nice warm welcome to Dr. Melissa Dangler. How are we doing today, doc? I am doing well. Thank you so much for allowing this opportunity for me to be here. Oh yeah. We're very excited. You were just at our recent VIP event. I know you've taught courses over the last 10 plus years and you have a really a big passion to help people out.

Dr. Dangler's Path to Naturopathic Medicine 3:46

So thank you for making time to join us today. Absolutely. Maybe you saw us a little more about your background. How'd you even get into naturopathic medicine? And, you know, because oftentimes I talk to nature paths or chiropractors, that people are doing more functional medicine type of approaches. It's usually a personal experience, even for myself, getting psoriasis and autoimmune condition in college shifted me from sports medicine to more nutrition and functional medicines. So what was your path and what is the beginning of the journey like for you?

Yeah, it's a really interesting story, and I'm glad that you asked because you're right. A lot of people start down this journey or this path because of a personal health issue or maybe a family member who had an issue, but my case is not really that situation at at all. I grew up in a very small town. We grew on a farm and we hunted and fished and had a cow that we milked, and a garden. And I just grew very rural Pennsylvania. You know, we always had an interest in natural health and healing and tried to take care of things at home and didn't go to the doctors a whole lot unless there were major health concerns.

And I always knew that I wanted to do something medical. Many of my family members were involved in the medical field and I had a strong interest in science and biology and knew I that wanted it to move that direction. Interestingly enough, I actually had plans to start school for pharmacy and my first year actually was that. And now I'm so far removed from that world. It really started. After changing from pharmacy to pre-med, I had a plan to go into conventional medical school and do the traditional route.

And one summer I was dating a guy at the time who was the assistant director for the Crawford County Youth Conservation Camp. I helped him do that camp that summer and it was between my junior and senior year of college. And we had an herbalist come in and talk to the kids about edible plants and herbal first aid. And it was truly like the cartoon, the light bulb moment. It went off and I was like, there really is a whole new side to medicine that I didn't really know existed. So I started researching and discovered naturopathic medicine.

And at that point in time, there were only four accredited schools in the US and one in Cuba. And so I started gathering information from all of the schools and I really was strongly attracted to the school in Arizona. now called Sonoran University, but formerly was Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine. And I got invited for an interview. Again, it was just one of those things when I walked through that door, I just knew that it exactly the place that I needed to be for the next four years of my life.

So the journey really began there and just honestly has grown ever since. That's so exciting. It reminds me a lot of how Christine grew up on a farm, hunting, fishing, and milking cows, Christine. Yeah, well, you know, some of us grew up in a city and some grew on a farm. So that is like everything that has so far removed from Christine. It's really silly. When I joined Nutritional Frontiers, I had no idea the extensive background in nutrition and nutraceuticals, right? You know, like my brother was a paramedic, so was my dad.

My mom ran a hospital laboratory. So I grew up in more or less modern medicine or traditional. And the only way I got exposed to it a little bit was when my mom went through the change of life. She started to recognize there wasn't anything for her at the time.

Womenu2019s Health and Perimenopause 8:02

to help with some of her symptoms, you know, the hot flashes and the bloating and all the weirdness that happens in women's health. And so that's when I first got exposed to the idea of natural medicine because my mom started to explore it. So I know one of the things that you treat at all your clinics and that your very passionate about is women health and hormones. I'm excited to dive in deep and see if we can learn any new secrets. Yeah, honestly, it was a journey that I never really sought out, but it kind of found me.

After I had graduated from naturopathic medical school and completed my residency, I moved back to Pennsylvania and I have the opportunity to work out of a medical doctor's office in Erie for the first few years of my practice. And she specialized, her practice was sort of dual approach. She did a lot of aesthetic procedures and also did women's health and hormone balancing. And so getting that opportunity to work with her, I just really started to dive in and learn about that hormone piece of it.

I loved the work that I was doing. And so I kind of took over that part of her practice and I just eventually grew and went out on my own. And I have such a strong passion for helping women and even men as well, struggling with hormonal issues. Although the majority of the patients that I do work with are women, typically in that age range between 30. and 50. So we're kind of looking at that perimenopausal range, but also, you know, women in their 50s and in 60s struggling with menopause as well too.

And even women into their 20s, and maybe struggling some fertility issues as Well, I'll tell you, one of the things that always strikes me in my previous life of being a crazy corporate turnaround specialist and an adrenal junkie on planes, And all of a sudden, my stomach being so bloated, My pants wouldn't fit. Like I had to wear like a sweater to cover my Stomach because I was so Bloated. And then in the morning, I would wake up and it was gone and I thought I Was losing my mind. I'm like, what?

What is going on here? You know, you know, hot flashes or those, you now, some of the other more common symptoms, but I'm like, I look like I am pregnant at night and then in the morning it's gone. Like what is going on? So, a lot of people didn't talk about perimenopause or what the change actually looks like or feels like. You know I very grateful that I imposed all of that now. There's a lot of benefit to that. But I remember going through it and just thinking, walking into a room and forgetting why I was there.

I'm like, wait a minute, I shouldn't be having these issues in my 40s. I wonder why we never really talked about it, or was this like a made-up phase, you know? Like doctors were like, I don't know what's going on. So it's kind of interesting, like when you started, there were only four schools for what you went to school for, right? And now, thank goodness, they're so many more. But I think it was also kind the same thing of when look at the pattern of women's health, a lot of things happen, in the 40s in particular, like 30s and 40, that most people weren't associating with an actual period of life or a change of live condition.

So is that a lot of what you treat? Yeah, definitely. And I think And of course, the internet has probably played a significant role in that and health and wellness podcast and the information that has become more widely available. But I agree. I mean, it used to be that women kind of went through their fertility years and then they went into menopause and there wasn't a whole lot of talk about perimenopaus. And now, as women become of the symptoms that they could experience with this transition in life and what's happening from that hormone perspective and that it's a phase of life that doesn't have to be miserable to go through.

And there are a lot of things that we can do from a natural and holistic perspective to help make this Transition of Life a more easy period, easy transition, and they don't to suffer from these unpleasant symptoms. So what are some of the things that you treat on a regular basis and how do you them?

Comprehensive Hormone Testing and Initial Consults 13:01

Yeah. So, I mean, from that perimenopausal standpoint, you know, probably the most common symptoms that we see women coming in with are hot flashes and night sweats. They're starting to experience some irregularities in their menstrual cycles, mood swings, irritability, decrease in libido. Vaginal changes, we start to see the foggy mind, the difficulty thinking, lack of concentration, need to have multiple post-it notes so that they don't forget what they are supposed to do. We start see sleep changes.

Weight gain is another common. Even as you describe, even some digestive changes we see that as well. And so, you know, typically our journey begins with, an initial consultation and we sit down for approximately a 90 minute visit where we take a very comprehensive look at the patient's health history questionnaire. You know we're looking at their symptoms, we are looking their diet, were looking past medical history. We're looking at medications and supplements that they're taking, we're look at their lifestyle factors, and trying to determine what areas could be contributing to their underlying symptoms as well as what we can do from a foundational standpoint in terms of diet and nutrition and exercise and hydration and sleep and emotional wellness and elimination.

We focus on those areas as to begin with, but then we were often diving deeper. And so we do a lot of hormone testing. We do test from a lab called Precision Analytical, and the test is called a Dutch Hormone Test. It's a dried urine hormone test for comprehensive hormones that allows for us to be able to look at all of the sex hormones and hormone metabolites. So it tells me how those hormones are being broken down and processed in the body. It also is looking at adrenal gland function, and I'm sure we'll dive into talking about adrenal health here as we keep going, but the adrenal is evaluated from two perspectives by looking our total metabolized cortisol, which is our best overall indicator of adrenal and function.

And then secondly, because the test has four to five collections that are done throughout the day, we can look at the individual circadian rhythm of cortisol and how that compares to a natural circidian rhythm where cortisol levels should ideally be highest in the morning after waking and then gradually decrease throughout day be at its lowest point between midnight and 1 a.m. and gradually replenish to, again, be at its highest point in the morning. And then lastly, this test looks at what are called organic acids, which are metabolites that are found in a urine that allows for us to be able to look at a potential vitamin and nutrient deficiencies as well as looking at some neurotransmitter levels and how that can relate to potential hormone imbalances as well.

So it's a very detailed, very comprehensive piece of information that really helps us to understand what's happening from that hormone perspective. But more often than not, it is true validation for these patients to help them really understand how they're feeling and that they are not just losing their mind. Yeah, well, just the fact that you're doing a 90-minute initial evaluation makes me feel great and should give people listening out there a lot of confidence that, you know, if you are seeking out a naturopathic doctor and you aren't happy with your current results, Dr.

Dangler and her team would be a fantastic place to start. Because oftentimes the frustration from the patient's perspective and their journey is, the doctor didn't even give me any time. They didn't even ask me about diet. They don't ask about anything. It was just pretty much dropped their head. And then that's like the sign that we're all going to agree to leave because they're going write a script for something. So you do the initial 90 minute consultation. You're doing a lot of testing at that point.

Can you tell us what it looks like over the next one to three months for the patient. Cause you know, we live in this world of instant gratification and fast food medicine. It's not just for food anymore, but fast-food medicine where people are going in, they're getting a script right away. They haven't really talked to anyone. There hasn't been a whole lot of testing going on. And it's pretty much very cookie cutter. I know yours is very customized. And I always tell people, I look, when you go to someone like Dr.

Dangler, you will see results soon, but you got to give them a good four months just for the red blood cells to turn over with some new nutrients and some lower stress. So what does that look like? Christine's coming here as a patient, and she's going through the initial consult. What's it look over the next one to four month? I'm really glad that you asked. So typically when I am describing to people what that journey looks like, I call it my six-fold approach. And number one always begins with the diet.

That first approach is typically what we call an elimination diet or an anti-inflammatory diet, And we really are doing this for a sort of twofold approach. I mean, number one, we want to identify foods that people may be sensitive to because if we are eating foods causing irritation or inflammation in the body,

Six-Step Treatment Approach: Diet and Supplements 18:38

it can have a negative impact on our hormones, especially on cortisol. Cortisol is our body's natural anti-inflammatory. And so if we have high levels of inflammation, which could be coming from what we are eating, it's forcing those adrenal glands to have to try to pump out more cortisol in order to be able to quell that inflammation. Which in turn can have a huge impact on all of the other sex hormones as well too. So we generally are doing a three to four week elimination and then, you know, typically a four to six week reintroduction process to identify potential food sensitivities.

Our second approach is what I call general supplementation. And there are a few key supplements that I am an advocate for. One is a good quality, multivitamin, multi-mineral complex. As much as we would like to think that we can get everything from food, in reality, we, can't. Our food quality is lousy compared to what it once was. And I always use the example of, I taught a master's degree program in holistic nutrition for 14 years, and my students had some of the best diets in the world, but I would still see their nutrient analysis week after week and they were still showing up with nutrient deficiencies.

So, you know, even with a, well, most thought out structured food plan, just because of the quality of much of our food and the availability of food, it can be difficult to get adequate amounts of nutrients. And of course, that doesn't even take into consideration things like people's stress levels or their physical activity or environmental exposures that they may have, which all require increased amounts of certain nutrients. So I always describe a good multivitamin, multi-mineral as serving as insurance for the things that we may not be getting from our diet.

No, I'm just saying because a lot of times people look at me being more nutritionally based or you as a naturopath and say, oh, well, of course she's saying that, right? Well, folks, so I want to clear a misconception up. This goes all the way back to June 28th, 2002, and a famous journal called JAMA, Journal of American Medical Association. this research was done at Harvard School of Medicine. and they recommended all the way back in 2002 that everybody, regardless of age or health condition, takes a multivitamin daily.

So, this is not brand new, so I'm not a naturopath. This is going back to JAMA now. Unfortunately, a lot of medical doctors still haven't read it or promote it. I know you love Nutritional Frontier, what is your favorite multi? Yeah, I mean, the women's maltai is an excellent one. And just the frontier maltai is, is excellent as well too. Both of them are helpful. Sometimes we choose the woman's. It does have a few extra ingredients in it that can be helpful in supporting women health. So they're both great malties.

Yeah. Yes. Davey was like, don't you have women's complete? I was, like I have frontier. What I do is I look at you, really sensitive guys, cover up the wall, it says men's completely. That's right. Yes. Right. It reminds me of Dr. Bob using our Menno flash because he thought it was for men and it helped him with his own heat flashes from a surgery, cracking me up. All right, so a great foundational multi so that we can get all the nutrients we need. Okay, what else is a staple for you? Yeah, fish oils.

Fish oils are highly anti-inflammatory. They cross the blood-brain barrier. they help with mood, concentration, memory, and focus. You know, many of my patients struggle with anxiety, And so fish oil taken in therapeutic dosages can reduce anxiety by as much as 33%. And of course, the cardiovascular benefit that comes along with it. Even the New England Journal of Medicine recommends that we get at least two grams of fish oil per day. So what do you do with someone who's sensitive to fish or like if they tend to get indigestion from it, what would you say is going on with them?

Yeah. So part of it can be because it's a poor quality fish oil. And another is, you know, if they're getting the burping or the aftertaste or indigestion from that, usually there's some other things that are going on. They may have lower stomach acid levels, they may reduce enzyme activity, and they need a little support in terms of like bio acids or bio salts. to help with that fat digestion and absorption as well too. And truly, if all else fails, I will often just have them put that into the freezer and then take them frozen and it should resolve that issue as.

Well, that's a cool tip. All right. So noted. I interrupted you. What were you going to ask? Oh, no, it's okay. That was a great question because I get that quite a bit, especially from the consumers and the patients over the years. There's been all kinds of different tricks out there they're going Um, with it, put it in water and all those things, but it really comes down to, if they're not healthy to begin with, they are probably not breaking down fats real well, like you had mentioned.

Adrenal Support and Stress Recovery 24:18

So I would always recommend something like, you know, eliminating all their trans fats, adding in some good healthy fats like olive oil or avocados, and then maybe something beta-zyme. And because if there had been a history of Prilosec, Prevacet, or any antacids, You know, most of the consumers have been really misled that this issue in having heartburn or reflux is not too much acid. The acid's in the wrong place. So they feel like they're having all this overproduction. It's actually underproduction, about 95% of it.

And do you remember, Doc, some of these used to be prescription. Now they're over the counter like omeprazole and it says right on the box. Do not take for more than 14 days without medical supervision. Well, who's supervising if they going into the grocery store and buying it on their own. So I love your foundational approach. I wrote down there are six things. One is diet, two is foundational supplements. After the multi-officio, do you recommend a protein shake or anything like that or greens?

Um, I mean, not necessarily in the foundation. I means, we certainly discussed the importance of protein and green leafy vegetables in particular from that dietary perspective. But the other thing from a foundational standpoint that we recommend is vitamin C. Interestingly enough, the highest concentration of vitamin c in body is found in adrenals. And if the adranals are potentially depleted, chances are people are not getting enough vitamin Did you hear that, Christine? Adrenals, stress, mood?

I think I'm going to get mapped. That's what I'd think. I'll start at the top because my adrenos are going, hey, you might need to see Dr. Dangler right now. So from there, we move on to supporting those adrenal glands. And that's kind of my third and fourth approach combined. This is where we look at two different classes of supplements. The first is I use a class of herbs called adaptogenic herbs. These herbs adapt to glandular function, meaning that if an individual is producing an excessive amount of cortisol, especially in stressful situations, long-term chronic stress, even more acute stressful situation.

These adaptogens can help to lower that cortisol output or what I actually see more of in my practice is low adrenal function, low cortisol outputs. And so these herbs can stimulate the adrenals to upregulate that cortisol production. In other words, they have a leveling or a balancing effect on cortisol. We often combine them with adrenal glandulars, which of course are desiccated adrenal glands that are generally derived from bovine sources. They are hormone-free, but they are rich in enzymes and nutrients and cofactors that help with building and repairing our adrenal glans.

I always use the analogy of If someone is in an extremely nutrient depleted state, one of the most beneficial foods they can consume is liver. I'm not saying that people have to go eat liver, the thought of that sometimes is very disgusting for people to think about. Some people love it and that's wonderful, but other people the though of it is not appealing to them. But it's the same idea with the utilization of glandulars is that they nutritively help to feed and support those adrenal glands. And depending upon the degree of adrenal imbalance, I may consider combining the herbs and the glandulars together.

And, depending on that sort of imbalance or degree, supplementation could be anywhere from four to six months, six to eight months or sometimes even eight to a year or longer. But it typically does not take that long for people to feel better. Usually within a few weeks, they're starting to notice improvement. I always explain to people that it took a while for them to get to where they are. It takes time for their body to heal and to back to a more optimal level of functioning. That's a great point.

You answered my question already because I'm thinking adrenomax, adrinoglandular, and there's so much misinformation out there. I would always tell people, look, you needed four months because you've been depleted for years. And by the time you felt the symptoms, I don't know how much you had a decline before you actually felt that symptom. A lot of people are misinformed that they feel like as soon as they have the symptom is when it started. where I know in naturopathics the approach is more like, hey, it's been slowly going downhill and now it is in red alert.

So I love the fact that you're doing the adaptogens and the glandulars because people are overstressed these days and sometimes the adaptation may be enough or may not be. That's three and four. I like how you are doing two of the six foundations for Adrenal health because, you know, oftentimes people think of hormones. They're thinking of sex hormones, Dr. Ed Lee, he's a medical, one of the first functional endocrinologists.

Bioidentical Hormones and Estrogen Detoxification 29:38

And he did his residency at Pitt. So he spoke for us years ago and he would talk about the trifecta, adrenal, thyroid, and then sex hormone. He said, if you're skipping the 1st 2, You're never going to be able to get this completely balanced out. I love how you do the adrenals. What's the next step 5? Yeah, so this is where BHRT, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy comes into play. And as a naturopathic doctor in Pennsylvania, I do not have prescriptive rights, but we do have availability to low dose bio-identicles over the counter.

And I would say in generally 90 to 95% of the patients that we work with, the low-dose bioidenticals combined with dietary and lifestyle changes and supplemental support, they are able to achieve hormonal balance. And so when we're talking about bioidenticals, we are talking of the use of hormones that chemically look identical from the hormones our body produces, which is very different than conventional approaches or even things like birth control, that use synthetically derived hormones which look very differently than what our bodies are producing.

So this is where that hormone testing really comes into play. It's giving us a foundation, a baseline for where people's hormone levels are and where we can give the most directed or guided support from that hormonal perspective. So we might look at things like progesterone or DHEA, potentially estrogens. Sometimes people actually have an imbalance between their estrogen and their progesterone, and they create more of what we call an estrogen dominant situation. And that could be because of excess production of estrogen.

It can be, because their body is not properly metabolizing those hormones, and they're accumulating. And so the hormone testing allows for us to see how their bodies is breaking down their estrogens through two different detoxification pathways, through the first phase called hydroxylation. We look at three types of estrogen called a 2-hydroxyestrogen, a 4-hidroxyestrogene, Oh, I love this part. This is Dr. Bland stuff, so I loved it. Yeah. So this is what we call it the good, the bad, and the ugly.

We want to favor more of that two-hydroxy metabolization. And the reason is because it goes through a secondary phase of detoxification called methylation. And so, methylation is fascinating. This happens in every single cell of the body. It happens billions of times a second. it impacts our body's ability to produce blood cells, it affects DNA synthesis and repair, It impacts energy production, and affects how we utilize certain nutrients, especially B vitamins, but it plays a significant role in detoxification.

So that 2-hydroxy gets converted into what we call a 2 methoxyestrogen, and then this gets excreted and eliminated from the body. And so we can assess that metabolization of this estrogen through this Dutch hormone test that we utilize. Sometimes we actually need to give detoxification support to help ensure that are getting a better, healthier ratio between estrogen and progesterone. So in your experience, when someone who's processing through the bad or the ugly, that'd be the four or 16 pathway.

We're always trained that, you know, unfortunately those hormones can proliferate in the breast, the ovaries, your uterine, and the prostate. And is that where you see some of the, we're not making any claims here, of course, some are the high risk for cancers, estrogen dominant, things like that. Yeah, absolutely. So our goal is if people are pushing more of a four hydroxy or a 16 hydroxyl ratio, there are a number of nutritional supplements and lifestyle practices as well, too, that can help push or direct more that towards the healthier estrogen metabolization.

And so we can utilize things like calcium deglucarate, DIM, Indol-3-carbinol, just even overall liver support. The greens is an excellent option as well here to help support those elimination and detoxification pathways. Yeah, that was great when Dr. Berez, our original naturopath and MD helped us create the astroclan. She says, we got to do Meta-I3C and the DEM and Cal-D-Glucarate and curcumin. Cause she was a big educator on that first pass, right? You know, the initial, you know if you're not getting that through the cytochrome p450 or phase one in the liver, you're never going to get to phase two, which is often neglected too.

So astro cleanse, we also have DIM by itself. I have a question for you, because I heard DHEA, when I first started a hundred years ago, that was actually a prescription, and then it's become over the counter. The biggest challenge has been bioavailability and dosing. Can you comment a little bit on that? Because we do have it in a micro capsule, but we also have it, I prefer the liposomal creams, right? You know, where it's a transdermal cream. So what are your thoughts on DHEA as far as dosing goes and delivery?

Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, typically dosages range anywhere from 5 milligrams to 100 milligrams. For women, generally less than 25. And again, I'm a bit more conservative in my hormone approaches. So I am usually starting women around 10 milligrams of that DHEA and then going up from there if needed. The reason I'm a bit more conservative and the reason we do lower dosages for women with DHEA is that it is a direct precursor to testosterone. And while women need testosterone, we don't need too much testosterone so we have to be careful with the dosage of D HEA.

I mean, yes, D Hea is available in a lot of different formats. It's available and in liposomal forms. it's Available in topical applications. oral capsules or tablets, I'm typically tending to choose a liposomal delivery method. I find a lot of times that when it's taken orally in a capsule or a tablet form, results with it. I think that a lot of times it can get destroyed in that gastrointestinal tract, and I don't see a whole lot improvement. But in the liposomal presentation, in almost immediate contact with the mucous membranes, absorption is happening, so I tend to find better results from

Foundations of Health and Upcoming Events 36:38

that delivery format. Yeah, research shows orally it's very challenging. And then what happens is you may recommend 10, another doctor may recommended a hundred. If somebody's GI functioning is at a maximum, they can absorb a lot. Someone else may not absorb any. So that's why we've done real well, more with the transdermal types of creams. Well, this is fascinating. I think you have number six. Yeah. So number six really comes down to stress management, but I always describe that more as being just a piece of the foundations of health.

And I know the Foundations of Health is something, you know, that Nutritional Frontiers spends a lot of time, educating their customers and clients and healthcare practitioners on. You know, it really focuses on diet. It focuses upon adequate hydration, physical activity, restorative and restful sleep, emotional wellness and stress management, as well as proper elimination. And not just elimination through bowel movements and urination, but also supporting our body's ability to be able to eliminate toxins as, well.

So we spend a lot of time and provide resources for our clients on those foundations of health. We can supplement all we want, but if people are not working on these foundations, it just takes a whole lot longer for us to get desired outcomes and results. And when we can incorporate those Foundations of Health and especially dietary changes in particular, we get to those desired results much, much quicker. Yeah, one of the best ways is Christine has put together incredible professional training event that I know you and your team will be at where we can practice all of these foundations.

And where is that going to be, Christine? Cause I can't wait. Oh, the one that we have upcoming in April is in Sand Key, Florida, which is a Clearwater Beach area. And we had a lot of fun at those events, stimulating the mind, body, and the soul. We have an incredible lineup this year of speakers that are going to be sharing all of their secrets, just like Dr. Dangler did for us. letting people know exactly where the evolution of functional medicine is going. We have Dr. Lisa Koch, who's going to be speaking on mitochondrial dysfunction and brain health.

Dr Richard Silva is gonna speak to metabolism and how that metabolic syndrome has really evolved over the years and how it affects just about everything in our body. Then we have a dynamic duo back-to-back. Dr. Bob Rakowski, speaking about the evolution of men's health, and Dr Mary-Belle Verdiales, being about women's Health. And Dr Vee is a wonderful OB-GYN and fertility specialist. We're going to do some cool things this year where we're gonna have panels with all of our speakers this year besides book signings and yoga on the beach and workouts and beach bash and party and music and all kinds of fun stuff.

Day two besides my partner in crime kicking it off talking about some of the ways we support our practitioners with different business solutions and new cool things like chat GPTs exclusive for our practitioners. But we'll have Dr. Nathan Goodyear, who's going to give us an overview on the evolution of cancer treatments and how you can support things nutritionally when someone's doing through any type of treatment. Dr Tracy Straub is going talk about the Evolution of Cancer Care. And then Dr Len Branswitz and I are going talking about The Evolution Of Energy and Frequency Medicine and How It's Being Used even to destroy cancer cells today, which is pretty amazing.

And then Dr. Jekyll Patterson is going to talk all about the evolution of autoimmune conditions. So these are really difficult things for people to move through and they're sharing like their top protocols and all of those kinds of things and I can hardly wait. Yeah, and some of your colleagues, Dr. Jekyll Paterson and Dr V, some fellow colleague naturopathic doctors. And we're warming up the stage, Doctor Dangle. I know you've been itchy to get up there, so soon enough we will have you up here.

Before we do, can you share with us a little bit of some your foundational stress management? We talk about the beach, we love it. You know, laughing is a big thing for me. Um, grounding, you know just being out in nature. I know your daughter is big, uh, horseback rider and jumper and competitor and stuff. So I'm sure I've heard being around horses actually lowers blood pressure. You can share with us some of the natural things people can do. Cause sometimes it's so focused, I think in our world now with, um, quick fixes with medicine.

And what are some things that people do to really give themselves not only less stress, but more joy? Yeah, that's an excellent question. And honestly, I mean, you can look at any stress management book or Google how to manage stress and all the common things are going to come up. Yoga, meditation, deep breathing, journaling, self-care, the list goes on and on. But I really just encourage people to find something that is enjoyable to them. When it feels like work or it feel like a struggle, then it's not going to be productive for them in helping to manage their stress levels.

And so whatever that looks like, maybe it maybe a five minute meditation in the morning and at night before bed. Maybe it's starting your day with a gratitude journal and maybe just identifying three things that you are grateful for and ending your with just a summary

Stress Management, Joy, and Mental Wellness 42:38

of how the day went. You know, maybe it is taking a walk in the woods. Exercise can be a way to help effectively manage stress as well too, but I'm often even encouraging people to seek out the help of a qualified therapist, counselor. The body is a whole. We're a physical being, a mental being and an emotional being. And while we try to target and address all of these areas, the mental-emotional piece of it sometimes gets put on that back burner. while we're spending a lot of time focusing from that physical perspective.

And so that can be the missing piece for many people and that hurdle that they need to get over in being able to move forward from the physical perspectives. So I'm often even encouraging people to seek out counseling and work with a qualified professional to help them get their stressors and get them over the struggles that are blocking their their path to wellness. Well, I love it. So much great, fantastic clinical pearls today. I learned a lot myself. One last question I have before I'll turn it over to Christine.

What's your number one nutritional frontiers formulation? What is your favorite personally? Yes. Honestly, it's GI complete. There we go. It is, and I know we didn't talk about gastrointestinal issues too much today, but it is probably our number one seller at our office. And we, we recommend it a lot as part of our gut healing protocols when we're working with gastointesinal. Awesome. I love it. Well, Dr. Dangler, I really appreciate everything that you brought today and teaching us your six-step system and the level of care you're obviously delivering to your patients.

I mean, just a 90-minute initial visit. You know, some practitioners, you know today, people are used to 15 minutes and you are done at the most, 10 to15 minutes. So to have that much time and for you to take that in and of itself is absolutely a gift and obviously one of the reasons why you've had such an explosive impact and you got multiple clinics. I don't know how you do it. If everybody, and also, thank you for mentioning the mental and emotional component of health, right? If you're depressed, it's gonna be harder for your body to heal.

If your dealing with traumatic situations in your life, again, its taking a toll on the body. So that's one of the reasons why I train people to be neuro-energetic healthcare practitioners, so they can help shift some of that stuff out of their mental emotional body, And my colleague always says, you can't out supplement a bad lifestyle. And I think there's a lot of truth in that. You can not medicate it anymore. It's impossible. So I am sure everybody found value in this episode, but I'm going to encourage our listeners, if you did, please like, comment, and share this with someone who needs to hear it.

And Dr. Dangler, I know people are like, oh my God, i need that Dutch test too. How do I get mapped? How Do I find you? So you want to share with people how they can look you up? Yes. Yeah. So, you can find us on our website, vitalityhealthandwellness.com and our social media pages. We actually have social pages for each location. It's Vitality Natural Health and Wellness Center, Meadville, Grove City, and Lakewood. And you know, you can access information there as well too. And of course, just giving, giving us a call to one of our locations as we do pick up the phone.

I have the most amazing team, supporting and working with me here. We do answer the. Yes.

Favorite Products, Contact Info, and Closing 46:38

Awesome. All right. Well, all of that information will be in the show notes so that you can be sure to get in touch with Dr. Dangler and her incredible team and hopefully find a location near her. Do you do telehealth in case somebody is interested that's a little further out? We do. We can do through HIPAA-compliant Zoom consultations with our clients and even by phone if people don't have the capability or option to do Zoom as well too. So we can work with individuals remotely. Awesome. All right, Jamie, take it away.

Well, thank you so much, Dr. Melissa Dangle, for joining us today with all your very valuable experience that you have and your passion for helping people with contagious and that smile never ends. So thank so you much for all of your love and support over the years. You've been a blessing to the community and also to Team Nutritional Frontiers. I often share our first VIP dinner was in our warehouse with you, Michelle and Dr. Tom Lawrence. And I'm very humble beginnings, but look at us now and you were a key part of the initial meeting we had.

It was such a positive meeting and so many great ideas came out of that, like the new updated detox and the proprietary detox blend and things like that. Thanks for your support and input and everything. I've really been a huge part of Nutritional Frontier's success. So thanks so much. We appreciate it. And we look forward to seeing you and your team at our event in April. Thank you so. Much. Well, I'm looking forward. To it, that's for sure. Thanks Christine for always doing an incredible job. And thanks for all the listeners out there that are driving us to the number one health and wellness podcast out here.

So everyone, let's have a great day, great week, a good month, and God bless. Thanks for tuning in to The Holistic Truth Podcast. If this episode spoke to you, please follow the show and share it with someone ready to take charge of their wellbeing. For more tools and practitioner support, visit NutritionalFrontiers.com.