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If you've been told that salads, smoothies, and raw vegetables are the "healthy" choice, but your IBS or IBD symptoms seem to get worse after eating them, this episode explains why. I'm breaking down the concept of "cold damage" from classical Chinese medicine and how it connects directly to weakened digestive function, slow motility, and chronic GI symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, and constipation.

This isn't about ditching vegetables forever — it's about understanding why raw and cold foods can overwhelm an already-weakened digestive system, and what to do instead if you're someone who's tried "eating healthy" and still isn't getting relief.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What "cold damage" means in Chinese medicine and why it matters for IBS and IBD
• Why raw vegetables, salads, fruit, and ice water can worsen symptoms in someone with weak digestion
• What "weakened digestive fire" means and how to recognize it in your own body
• Why cooked, warm foods can be easier to digest and absorb than raw ones
• How stress and blood flow patterns contribute to poor digestive function
• A simple one-to-two week experiment to test if cold and raw foods are aggravating your symptoms
• Why chronic bloating, diarrhea, and constipation are signs of "loss of function," not just bad luck

Link to my free training “The Root Cause Approach to Gut Healing”—my step-by-step framework to stop guessing and start healing

Link to a free 30 minute Gut Check Call

Link to my website

Disclaimer: None of the content discussed is meant to be taken as medical advice. All information presented is for educational purposes only and listeners and viewers assume all responsibility around implementing any changes to their health and medical regimen.

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If you're living with an autoimmune condition — whether that's IBD, Hashimoto's, Graves', MS, or another diagnosis — and you feel like your body and your life are spiraling out of control, this episode is for you. Dr. Amy Behimer, PharmD and board-certified health coach living with four autoimmune diagnoses herself, joins me to break down the mindset side of autoimmune healing that most practitioners never talk about.

We cover why your thoughts about your diagnosis directly shape your symptoms, how to shift from "managing disease" to "creating health," and why tiny, believable changes outperform massive overhauls every time. If you've tried every diet, every supplement, and every doctor and still feel stuck, this conversation will help you understand the missing piece.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why feeling hopeless after trying everything isn't a sign you're "unfixable" — it's a sign your inner habits haven't caught up to your outer ones
• The difference between managing autoimmune disease and creating autoimmune health
• How your thoughts about your diagnosis directly influence inflammation and symptom flares
• Why "trust in the tiny" works better than drastic diet or lifestyle overhauls
• How to know if fear (not evidence) is driving your health decisions
• The real reason so many people quit a new protocol before it has a chance to work
• What it actually looks like to rebuild identity after a chronic diagnosis

Keywords/topics for search optimization: autoimmune disease mindset, autoimmune healing, IBD flare ups, managing autoimmune symptoms naturally, autoimmune and anxiety, gut brain connection autoimmune, chronic illness mindset shift, habit change for chronic illness, feeling hopeless with autoimmune disease, autoimmune identity change, Dr. Amy Behimer

Guest: Dr. Amy Behimer, PharmD, board-certified health coach, host of Autoimmune Health Secrets podcast

www.amybehimercoaching.com

https://www.instagram.com/amybehimercoaching/

https://podfollow.com/autoimmune-health-secrets

www.amybehimercoaching.com/quiz

Link to my free training “The Root Cause Approach to Gut Healing”—my step-by-step framework to stop guessing and start healing

Link to a free 30 minute Gut Check Call

Link to my website

Disclaimer: None of the content discussed is meant to be taken as medical advice. All information presented is for educational purposes only and listeners and viewers assume all responsibility around implementing any changes to their health and medical regimen.

Send us Fan Mail

If you have IBS-D, IBD, or chronic gut issues and you're exhausted all the time — needing naps to get through the day, relying on caffeine to function, waking up tired no matter how much you sleep — your fatigue isn't a separate problem. It's coming from your gut. In this episode, I break down the six root causes of chronic fatigue in IBS and IBD, why eating a healthy diet isn't enough when your digestive system is compromised, and where to look for answers when "everything looks normal" on your labs.

During my own IBS-D struggle, the fatigue was so profound I sometimes had to lie down midday just to function. Here's what I've learned — personally and in my functional nutrition practice — about why this happens and how to get your energy back.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why a healthy diet can't fix your energy when digestion is broken: the "high-quality gas in a broken engine" problem
• Root cause #1 — Impaired digestion: how low stomach acid, weak enzyme production, and poor bile quality drain your energy (and how a GI Map stool test reveals it)
• Root cause #2 — Malabsorption and leaky gut: why nutrients are "going right through you" and how small intestine damage activates the immune system
• Root cause #3 — Chronic inflammation: the hidden energy thief connecting your gut to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood sugar issues, and autoimmune conditions
• Root cause #4 — Blood sugar instability: why energy crashes after meals trace back to gut dysfunction
• Root cause #5 — The chronic stress response and stored trauma: how living with unpredictable gut symptoms keeps your nervous system locked in survival mode — and why that consumes enormous energy
• Root cause #6 — Toxic burden and poor detox capacity: mycotoxins, chemical toxins, microplastics, and the Total Tox Burden test
• Why hidden gut infections silently drain energy in the background — and how specialized testing uncovers what conventional GI workups miss

If you're exhausted, brain-fogged, and feel like food is "going right through you" — and your doctor says everything looks fine — there's a root cause your labs haven't found yet.

Link to my free training “The Root Cause Approach to Gut Healing”—my step-by-step framework to stop guessing and start healing

Link to a free 30 minute Gut Check Call

Link to my website

Disclaimer: None of the content discussed is meant to be taken as medical advice. All information presented is for educational purposes only and listeners and viewers assume all responsibility around implementing any changes to their health and medical regimen.