On the podcast this week, elite mountain biker Sarah Kaufmann. Sarah suffered a mono infection a couple of years ago and has since been struggling to find her best form. Her recovery slowed, and insomnia set in. This together with digestive distress prevented from reaching her full potential on the bike.
Switching to a Paleo type diet helped, but it hasn't been enough. After hearing me speak on the Robb Wolf podcast, we set about figuring out the underlying cause of her issues using salivary hormone, stool and organic acids testing. The saliva result showed low cortisol, low DHEA and incredibly low progesterone. Organic acids showed problems with fat burning, energy production, folate deficiency, inflammation and oxidative stress. The stool test found a blastocystis hominis infection.
In addition to further diet and lifestyle changes, Sarah has taken supplements to address some of the problems we found. She now feels much better; her recovery times have improved, but still I feel like we're not there yet. Listen in to hear Sarah's very candid account of the changes that both helped and hindered.
Are you looking for a paleo friendly coach that takes a minimalist and holistic approach? Sarah is a has a limited capacity to take on more clients. Email her sarah@plan7coaching.com
Photo credits: Scott Kingsley Photography and Dave Kozlowski.