To those of you who read this blog, I have a special treat for you today, which marks the 8th anniversary of Conscious Chimera. I (KM) was thrilled and honored when Dr. Teri Jackson (TJ) agreed to be interviewed for this anniversary article. Dr. Teri, as many people call her, is a naturopathic physician in practice for the last 13 years or so. She currently resides on the island of Maui. Those who know her, recognize her skill and vast knowledge with regard to the metabolic approach to health and disease development. Here, we will look at this through the lens of Dr. Nasha Winters’ metabolic approach to treatment and, most importantly, prevention. 

KM: So, Dr. Teri, what is the metabolic approach and what are some common metabolic diseases that people are living with?

TJ: The basic tenant of the metabolic approach to health and wellness is that all disease at its core is due to a disruption in the metabolic function. The treatment approaches used tend to support the overall health of the person, rather than just going after the disease itself. We approach the whole person, not just the disease state.

Generally, when people think of metabolic diseases, the ones that really come to mind are diabetes, because that has a direct influence from our blood sugar control, which is metabolism, as well as heart disease, high blood pressure, high lipids, and high cholesterol. We typically think of those as metabolic diseases, but even conditions such as cancer, which our culture has been conditioned to think of as a genetic disease, is linked to metabolism. We now know that it’s actually more of a dysregulated metabolism that actually is causing cancer, not genetic mutations, per se. So it’s the dysregulated metabolism that causes the genetic dysfunctions, which then leads to cancer.

KM: Not the other way around!

TJ: Yes, exactly. So the conventional theory of how cancer develops is that there’s a genetic mutation and again, this is called the somatic mutation theory of cancer, and this is what conventional medicine focuses on –  you know, attack the tumor, kill it, get rid of the tumor, because that’s the problem from the conventional perspective. But the way that we’re approaching cancer is that it’s actually the other way around. 

It’s dysfunctional, dysregulated metabolism of the individual that’s actually creating these genetic mutations that then explode into the cancering process.

KM: So this approach seems to go more to the root cause, and look into what would cause genes to express in such a way…a harmful way.

TJ: Yes, that’s exactly right. And in fact, we don’t ignore genetics when we talk about the metabolic approach to disease. We are absolutely looking at genetics, and in particular a concept called epigenetics. So there’s the DNA, the genome that we’re born with, and that is unalterable, that is just who we are, but these genes can be turned on and off in different types of ways based on diet and lifestyle and stress levels. The mental emotional piece is actually much bigger here than a lot of people recognize – it isn’t just physical toxins in the environment that create epigenetic changes, but toxicity in interpersonal relationships, workplace dynamics, dysfunctional coping mechanisms, etc., also have a tremendous impact on genetic expression. So these genes can be turned on and off in either healthy ways to help promote the wellbeing of the person or they can be turned on and off in ways that are detrimental to the person’s health. How we live and breathe and move and sleep and light exposure – all of these really basic things – It’s not just administering supplements, it’s about getting those really foundational pieces into place, which is fresh air, sunshine, exercise, reduced blue light exposure from electronics, EMFs, etc.

KM: Talking about the epigenetic component reminds me of when I was in the first three years of my doctoral program, when we were really focused on prenatal and perinatal psychology. We talked about how in this earliest time  – life in the womb, but also going back into the mother’s life, the grandmother’s life.

TJ: So it’s like you’re talking about this kind of mental-emotional piece, or psychological health, but it goes even beyond that. It goes deeper into the physiology as well. Because the eggs that females have were developed in her grandmother. All of us were in our grandmother’s womb.

This relates to the concept of epigenetics. So we can look at this as generational, you know, we can call it generational trauma or learning, and that’s more of a psychological approach to it however it’s based in physiology and genetics, and this idea of epigenetics. For example, part of the questionnaire that I have with some of my patients includes questions like “Did your parents, grandparents, or great grandparents, go through The Depression? Were they Holocaust survivors?” – these types of questions, because that kind of trauma turns into this generational trauma.

KM: Oh, and war! Through wars, for example, we are creating future generations who will have these genetic predispositions.

TJ: Exactly…That really isn’t part of your genetic blueprint as far as your DNA goes. It’s this epigenetic expression. So yeah, so it goes on, on all these different levels that generational trauma is passed on, and transmitted. 

So we think about health, or lack of health, or disease as growing from soil, if you will. If we can consider ourselves as a garden, we are needing to nourish that soil in a way that can support us to grow and develop as a healthy organism. In this way, we can think of ourselves as a terrain.

An analogy that a lot of people use is that of the fishbowl. So it’s like if you have a goldfish in a bowl of water that’s just polluted and dirty, and filled with all manner of crap and toxins and no nutrients, you don’t just treat that fish with medications or even supplements. You would think that the way to help that fish is to just move it into a clean bowl. So the metabolic approach doesn’t just give the fish medication or supplements to help it retain its health. After all, this fish is in this dirty toxic soup. So we have to clean up the environment, both internally and externally. We have to address both of those.

So in order to remain well or heal from disease, we target the terrain. According to the metabolic approach, there are 10 different aspects of the terrain that we really want to address with each patient. We usually pick the top three to work with at first because otherwise it gets overwhelming for both the patient and the practitioner. 

So we have to start with the top priorities. We’ve already mentioned genetics and epigenetics, so that’s one.There’s the digestive health and microbiome as well. That’s basically the bacteria and everything else. There’s also blood sugar balance. And off course there’s toxic burden which goes back to the fish bowl discussion. Here, we need to basically ensure that we’re in a clean, relatively toxin free environment. Immune Function is also huge because our immune function is basically that gateway that’s protecting us from our environment. Inflammation is another one. It’s been long known that inflammation is a root cause of many, many disease processes, and lots of people say that, but then we also have to get down beneath the inflammation. Inflammation is the cause of so many disease processes, if not all of them.

KM: We have to ask, but what causes inflammation? 

TJ: That’s correct. So we have to go we have to dig deeper on that one by determining why the inflammatory processes are out of balance. It could be from an infection, environmental toxins, improper diet, allergies, etc.

And another one is blood circulation. We need to make sure that our blood is moving properly throughout the system in an unimpeded way which includes healthy cardiovascular and lung function. Hormone balance is another big one for the terrain. Hormone balance is critical, not just with women, with men as well and we’re not just talking about sex hormones. We’re talking about thyroid. We’re talking about cortisol and stress hormones. We’re talking about hormones in the brain that regulate hunger signals and satiety. So these hormones are really, really important to keep in balance. And this also actually ties into toxic burden because our world is so heavy and xenoestrogens, pesticides, and plastics which are totally messing up our hormonal systems. Not just with men and women, but with children even! Children are having these crazy hormonal symptoms that they shouldn’t be. Another drop in the bucket is stress. Again, the stress response and bio rhythms (such as circadian rhythms) are very important. I ask my patients, are you in bed by 10:00pm, or the very latest 11:00pm? Are you sleeping through the night? Are you getting up at an appropriate hour? Do you feel rested and refreshed? 

KM: Sleep is a big one! One doctor said that if you have to do one thing, or make one positive change in your life, make it about sleep.

TJ: I agree. It’s true.

KM: Did we cover the Terrain 10 or is there something else?

TJ: Yes, there’s one more thing. That’s the mental-emotional piece. This is a piece that regular primary care doctors, even integrative health practitioners, tend to kind of shy away from this because we think it’s not in our wheelhouse. Sometimes it’s more appropriate to refer out to other practitioners if necessary (counselors or psychologists, other therapists), but we have to really understand that such a big piece of health and healing is this mental-emotional piece. It’s huge. Hundreds and hundreds of practitioners have just seen this time and time again. That is, that one’s attitude toward their health matters. Feeling positive and hopeful and having faith that their health can be restored does so much good for them. However, we also have to be careful not to push people into this toxic positivity, where they feel like they have to force this like, you know, Little Miss Sunshine, if that’s not what they’re feeling, because when you’re suppressing these very real, very normal, very validated feelings of fear and hopelessness and despair (genuine feelings), especially once you come up against a diagnosis, like cancer. 

KM: Right, because then this so called “toxic positivity” can make it ineffective. It’s ineffective when it is not congruent. If you are in a true state of fear, but then telling yourself you have to say positive affirmations all day is, in my opinion, it’s a waste of time.

TJ: Right! It’s a waste of time, and it can even create more problems for the person because then we’re suppressing and stuffing stuff. A huge tenet of naturopathy is that we don’t suppress. We don’t suppress symptoms and we don’t suppress emotions. We have to get the stuff out, and process it as it comes out. You know, a lot of times, when people are facing a pretty serious diagnosis, they’re trying to stay positive and upbeat to protect the people around them. And that’s also really counterproductive. 

KM: Yes, I totally agree. This is leading me to recall how I’ve heard Dr. Gabor Mate talking about the emotional lives of people with some serious diseases, most of whom are women. Knowing that the vast majority of those diagnosed are women when it comes to immune diseases (many of which have a metabolic origin) really hit me hard, especially alongside getting a peek into their inner, emotional lives.

TJ: I remember hearing this. You know, I haven’t always been in the integrative oncology world. I’ve actually got my initial training working with the allopathic conventional medical school in Portland: Oregon Health Sciences University. I did Breast Cancer Research for a number of years in Portland. And that’s kind of what we used to say. It was primarily breast cancer patients that we were working with. We would say that there are actually three personality types. There’s the Type A personality which we know of, you know, kind of typical type A, there’s a type B, which is like your chill, laid back, and then there’s your type C, your cancer personality type, which is what we’re describing as people pleasing. It’s this, putting other people first and ignoring your own needs in order to support others. And it’s also this piece of suppression as well. Coming back to this sort of idea that if we suppress our own needs, our own emotions, our own ugliness, things that we don’t want the world to see…

KM: Like the shadow? 

TJ: Yes, thank you. That’s another really big piece to this C type personality, this cancer type. It’s this suppression and putting on a really good face and trying to present well to the world.

KM: So part of the remedy, in a way, a little slice of the remedy pie, is authenticity. Healthy expression of true emotion. And how do we see the shadow? Well I know we can see it in dreams. That’s just one reason why keeping a dream journal is important. We can also see it when we’re tracking our thoughts from a kind of cognitive therapy perspective. You can learn to track your thoughts and pay attention to all the rambling and just see what you’re stuffing and see what’s coming up or out. 

So we’ve covered the Terrain 10, especially placing attention on the mental-emotional component.

TJ: Homeopathy, which is a gentle treatment, sits well with the metabolic perspective in that we are not just treating the disease state, we are treating the person.

KM: Right. My understanding of how homeopathy works is really important because if you’re looking at it from a strictly Western mindset, one that’s of a Newtonian, reductionist, materialistic perspective, homeopathy doesn’t make any sense. So looking at the energetics behind things, understanding that we are electric beings, energetic fields, if you will. So homeopathy can marry well, I think, with that holistic, whole person approach. 

TJ: One thing that really pops into my mind right now is a questionnaire that we give all of our new patients – this is the Adverse Childhood Experiences.

KM: Oh yes! I administer that to all of my therapy clients as well. It’s so very important. 

TJ: One thing that I’ve learned through my own therapeutic process is that the situations we were put in during childhood really do follow us into adult life.

KM: Exactly, and now we have the proof!

What’s beautiful about the ACE study is that it is validating. It helps people understand that the childhood trauma they experienced can have a powerful direct (negative) impact on their adult selves. The trauma endured, or rather survived, by a child is never their fault, however it is their responsibility to heal from it. The work put into the healing from the grief, terror, deep pain, leaves a positive impact on the world and others, including their own offspring. To recover fully, we must go through an often lonely process of naming it or recognizing it, claiming it by taking ownership, and then releasing it or dumping it.

TJ: So just for example, as far as the mental-emotional adverse childhood event, or even adverse anytime in your life event, for example, when we see gynecological cancer, we have to think about sexual trauma. When we think about, you know, lung cancer, we think about grief. So this is where we kind of tie in some of these concepts from Chinese medicine, emotional, mental states that we tend to associate with a different organ systems. So when we look at things like the lung, that’s really grief. When we look at people with liver cancers, or any kind of liver problem, we have to look at, you know, how do you process your anger and your frustration? Are you able to process that in a healthy way? Or do you lash out, do you rage? Do  you stuff it down and then self harm by expressing that anger toward yourself? 

Prostate cancer, like gynecological cancer, can have a relationship with one’s difficulty with expressing healthy sexual expression, in a nontoxic way. How do you manage or express your masculinity? Are you able to connect with another in a healthy way? These are challenges for men in this culture.

Now with cancers related to the bladder and kidneys, anything that has to do with the urinary tract actually, we think of fear – like an existential fear – not necessarily a fear about anything in general. Essentially, it’s like “what does it all mean?” You know, being fearful in the world. 

But with regard to treatment we must look at the toxic burden for these cancers. So, What are you eating? What’s your water like? Are you drinking too much alcohol? That kind of stuff.

KM: Right! A slice of the toxic burden pie, when it comes to bladder, kidney, or urinary tract cancers might come from exposure to the news, especially these days. News stations need their audiences to be fearful of the world because that gets them to tune in more often…higher ratings. One of the best things I’ve ever done, is make the decision to not own a television and not watch the news, except for perhaps on a bi-weekly or even monthly basis. I see it as a protective factor.

As we wrap up our time together today, Dr. Teri, is there any last thought you’d like to share?

TJ: The one thing that I just see time and time again in patients with all kinds of health conditions is how are you speaking your truth? How are you expressing yourself in a genuine and authentic way? Especially in this culture that we find ourselves in with so much focus on external appearances and where we feel like we have to present ourselves to the world in a very specific way. Discover what you love and do it! It can be your love for art, dance, music..any kind of healthy expression of who you truly are. So figure out who you really are and what you really want out of this life. That will be more potent, more powerful than any drug, any supplement, any dietary intervention that we can come up with.

KM: I love this. Dr. Teri, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom today and for taking the time to be here. I appreciate you.

To Your Health,

Dr. Kim

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