In this episode, I interview Dr. Meg Mill who is a functional medicine health practitioner and clinical pharmacist. She helps people heal by finding the root causes of their health problems and providing personalized support. Meg is here to educate and empower you in learning about all things gut health, and if you are experiencing these issues, get you on the path to improving your quality of life!
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Show Notes:
02:30 About Dr. Meg Mill
Meg spent almost 20 years in the conventional medicine space. She kept seeing patients surviving rather than thriving. They weren’t getting better, they were just getting prescribed more medicine. She also experienced some gut-related problems personally and wasn’t receiving any answers from the medical or holistic perspective. That was how she learned about functional medicine.
04:38 Pursuing Functional Medicine
Functional medicine involves both perspectives and identifies the root cause of the issue. It helped Meg so much and she wanted to bring it to more people. So she decided to get certified in functional medicine and incorporate it into her practice.
05:35 Surviving Vs. Thriving
Meg shares her experience following protocols for medication when working in conventional medicine. Now in her practice, she understands that background, but she also understands how to get to the root cause of the problem with functional medicine instead of putting a bandaid on the symptoms. When you address the root cause, oftentimes you can feel better and will no longer need medication.
07:46 Symptoms Often Linked to the Gut
There are so many expressions of imbalances in the gut. For example, skin issues, headaches, even anxiety and depression. Meg frequently does stool testing to take a look at the microbiome. Meg teaches us about bacteria, acid and alkaline in the gut.
13:51 Functional Medicine Protocols
Functional medicine takes time while you go through protocols to find the root cause. First, food sensitivities are taken out and then put back in the diet one at a time to see if the body reacts. Then, whatever’s going on in the gut is addressed as well as healing the lining with the help of prebiotics, probiotics and digestive enzymes. This is a step by step process. Meg typically lets her clients decide whether they would like to do testing or elimination methods.
18:15 Developing Sensitivities with Time
Food sensitivities are often foods you eat regularly. People will get what’s called “a leaky gut”. The foods you are eating regularly get into your bloodstream in larger particles than they should be, so your body starts developing resistance.
20:18 Common Symptoms
Dr. Mill shares some common symptoms that could be associated with a food sensitivity. We also talk about how heachaches are tied to these issues, as well as how hormones and toxicity play into this.
27:49 When Are Headaches a Problem?
We are often quick to remedy a headache with a quick fix like Tylenol, though Meg says if you are doing this more than once a month you may actually have an issue that is gut health related. Every symptom is a sign from our body. If we use functional medicine to address the root of the issue, then we don’t need to remedy the symptom with constant medication. You have to be willing to take the time to heal it.
30:50 You Don’t Have to Live with Headaches
Meg had started noticing a pattern of women having headaches, so she became passionate about using functional medicine to help people eliminate them. She wanted to help people realize that they don’t have to live this way.
33:27 Where to Start
With gut health or headaches, Meg recommends to start paying attention to your food. If you are bloated or have a headache, write down the foods you ate that day or the day before. Be aware that your symptoms may be linked to other things besides where they are physically present.
35:17 Working with Meg
Meg shares what her process is when working with new clients. She now does virtual appointments all over the world.
37:38 Making Choices Around Sensitivities
If you have discovered that you have a sensitivity, but you love the food that you’re sensitive to, Meg recommends giving it four more weeks of elimination and trying it again. You have the power to make the choice if it’s worth it to eat that food on special occasions. We conclude by learning more about the brain and gut connection and why your gut is often called your second brain.
We chatted after the episode about how I had just started my gut health journey with the 4 Week Gut Protocol and she was so excited that this was making the tools, education and resources more readily available for people to care for their gut health before having to invest hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on individualized testing. I was so pumped to hear how supportive she was of the protocol and how it’s lined out and can’t wait to help more people feel their best as they take this journey with me!
Connecting with Meg
Here’s Meg’s Website: megmill.com
Here’s Meg’s Instagram: @drmegmill
Get Meg’s Free Guide For Headaches: megmill.com/headache
Sign Up for My 4 Week Gut Protocol: micahfolsomfit.com/gut
Here’s My Website: micahfolsomfit.com
Follow Me on Instagram: @micahfolsomfit
