113. Six Steps to Radical Healing and Living Wild & Well with Dani Williamson

Dr. Stephanie Gray 0:02

Could you be missing out on magnesium? If you aren't already taking magnesium you likely should be our deficient food sources caffeine consumption, stress and exercise robs us of magnesium which is an important cofactor for hundreds of processes in the body. It can calm your mind and ease your nerves to help you sleep at night and help reduce anxiety, PMS and headaches. It can relax your muscles when you have cramps your bowels when you're constipated, and it's required for energy hormone production and vitamin D absorption. If you're interested in exploring more about how magnesium can help support you living a longer healthier life, and the exact type of magnesium supplement to look for, check out my blog post the magnificence of magnesium found at your longevity blueprint.com forward slash blog and use code magnesium for 10% off our magnesium keylite product at your longevity blueprint.com Now let's get back to the episode!

Dani Williamson 0:59

What's at the end of your fork could heal you or kill you!

Dr. Stephanie Gray 1:06

Welcome to the your longevity blueprint podcast. I'm your host Dr. Stephanie gray. My number one goal with the show is to help you discover your personalized plan to build your dream health and live a longer happier, truly healthier life. You're about to hear from Danny Williamson. Today we're gonna dive into overcoming past childhood trauma as well as hear her six steps to radical healing and living wild and well eating well sleeping well moving well pooping well distressing well and communing. Well, let's get started.

Welcome to another episode of your longevity blueprint podcast. today. My guest is Danny Williamson who owns integrative family medicine and while the well the wellness Emporium in Franklin, Tennessee, she focuses on gut health, autoimmune thyroid diseases and hormone and adrenal health with her patients sounds like me, her broken bodies of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual process to healing. And He's a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing nurse midwifery and Family Nurse Practitioner programs. She's on the board of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention unbelief strongly and addressing issues of adverse childhood trauma and its relation to overall long term health conditions. Her first book wild and well being a six common sense steps to radical healing was released November of 2021 by Morgan James Publishing. So welcome to the show. Danny,

Dani Williamson 2:28

Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 2:30

Well, where do we start? There's so much we could talk about. And I think we'll just dive right in because you have story after story. So let's start with I know your mother has Alzheimer's and you're an only child and I've read your story of molestation and physical and verbal abuse from to stepfathers, which is more than anyone should have to go through. So can you expand on all you've been through and how you've managed to resolve pain and single handedly take care of your mom with this progressing disease right now?

Dani Williamson 2:59

Yeah, that's fascinating. So there was a lot of trauma before advocate Wilden well, for darn sure. And, you know, I grew up honestly in complete and total chaos in my house, and my grandfather had died by suicide. My mother attempted suicide multiple times. She married too stupid to other men other than my husband. I mean, my husband, my father, my dad was my first stepfather was a child molester. The second one nearly killed me my senior year in high school. I mean, it was bad. And I had chronic chronic diarrhea and bloating and gas and just awful, awful gut issues from all of that stress. And I was 20 years old and I had my first colonoscopy. Fast forward to 44 I had had for colonoscopy. endoscopy is barium enemas, diagnosed with lupus diagnosis. In my 30s things are, well depression and chronic itching. Bad marriage. I too was suicidal. I mean, it was just one mess after another, then a divorce applied to nursing school at 40. And then fast forward another $200,000 in student loans. I was still sick, got out of school 10 Doctors lighter 24 years of seeing doctors to little kids food stamps, I forgot that I was on food stamps and a medical cart. 24 years of seeing doctors before a doctor ever leaned into me and said, Danny, what are you eating? Don't you know your diet controls your disease? Do you take digestive enzymes and probiotics? You know whatever. And do you know your food sensitivities turn the entire trajectory of my world around 12 years ago at 44 changed the way I practice medicine. I had just gotten out of school and I was blown away that what's at the end of your fork could heal you or kill you what I had had for gastro neurologists and not a single one had ever said, What are you eating? They are tell me about what happened to you before the age of 18? Why did you have your first colonoscopy at 20. That's not normal. It's not normal to itch uncontrollably or poop your pants, basically before you get out of a restaurant. So it turned the entire world around when I learned that what affects you before the age of 18 can set you up for a lifetime of chronic disease. And what's at the end of your fork can kill you, as well as you know, sleeping well and moving well pooping Well, stressing Well, cultivating community all those things. So it's been a wild ride, the last 12 years, the first 44 years were just total complete chaos. But I have really come into my own from 44. And now and then my mom got diagnosed with Alzheimer's three years ago. It's been a nightmare. But we're getting through that. So all that being said, that's what I'm living is I help those men and women, mainly men, though, I mean, women honestly heal decades of chronic lifestyle disease by addressing their diet and their childhood trauma. And once I've fixed once I zoned in on the trauma situation. It really helped take the healing of my patients to the whole next level. It's fascinating, isn't it? I wasn't taught Stephanie, were you taught in school?

Dr. Stephanie Gray 6:27

No, no, no, I want to go to trauma. I want to spend some time there. But I have to go back someone asked. So what kind of doctor actually leaned into you?

Dani Williamson 6:35

Family practice. I was working for him. He was my first job. I had gotten fired. My very first job out of Nurse Practitioner school from the emergency room because it wasn't learning fast enough is what his words were to me. He's gonna get a copy of the book, though, by the way, because he said you're not learning fast enough. And I said, I love this job, Dr. so and so and he said, Nobody loves this job. They only do it for the money, Dani. And I said, what was out there was 200 grand in debt fired six months after graduating. And I got a job at a family practice clinic who had Dr. Cow had stepped out of the boat 15 years before and started practicing functional medicine. So I was like his protege he was my mentor for five years before I opened.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 7:21

And you were meant to land there. Because if you would have been working in the ER,

Dani Williamson 7:24

I would have never learned any of this. There were no book I would have never been wild and well, my patients would have been the exact same treating symptom after symptom after symptom. The heartburn I had for decades, right? That was a symptom of something bigger. It wasn't a Nexium deficiency. It was a symptom of everything I was eating and the stress that was in my life and the childhood so now he's family practice still here in this town today. And I left there seven and a half years ago to open my own practice and he's still a great mentor to me and it change the entire trajectory of my life. My children's lives, I hope generational changes here and of my patients as well. Because none of us rarely rarely some people are not born sick. I wasn't born sick. I wasn't born with lupus, I wasn't born with heart murmur. I wasn't born chronically itching. I wasn't born depressed. I turned to every bit of that on and staff I am living proof what you turn on, you can turn off.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 8:25

Let's talk about that because I'm sure trauma turns some of these things on the bad things. So obviously, you mentioned your childhood was traumatic. And I know this is an issue for 10s of millions of people worldwide. So we've mentioned on the podcast before the Adverse Childhood childhood event score the ACES so I've had some other if that's how I pronounce them had some other guests that have mentioned that and no I never ever was taught that through school. So is this something that you incorporate your knowledge of in your patient care then?

Dani Williamson 8:53

Every single day, the last four years every single new patient who walks in that clinic to see me get the adverse childhood experience questionnaire that 10 questions on physical abuse, emotional abuse and verbal abuse right divorce, molestation, you know, it's it's standard psychological living situations, violence against the mother, I mean, all that it goes on and on mental illness, they get that questionnaire it's turned my practice on its head, because I deal with a lot of autoimmune patients scenarios and thrones and ulcerative colitis, and it's it correlates. The sicker the patient the more the autoimmune disease. Oftentimes, the higher the adverse childhood experience questionnaire score minus six, I shouldn't be dead 20 years the statistics show before my counterparts who have a score of one or below, but about 70% of the population has one has at least one a sport they predict and if you have one When you've got a 50% chance or more of having a second one, and the higher the score, the shorter the lifespan, the you've got 100% Chance higher rate of suicide. If you have a four or more score 400% higher rate of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, 460% higher rate of depression, chronic pulmonary lung disease 390% Higher I mean, the list goes on and on and on with a six or more score decreased lifespan by 20 years because of something that you are not responsible for what happened to you when you were under the care of someone else?

Dr. Stephanie Gray 10:43

So what do we do about it? I believe I absolutely believe it. And I want to start using that I need to bring my patients.

Dani Williamson 10:49

It's in the book. The question is in the book, but you can bring it online free from NPR. And if you type in Ace questionnaire, just type it in, there you go. It's not perfect. Do you know the story of how it has had no basis. And I'll get into this forever and it's all in the book so you can read it but it was in the 90s in San Diego, California, Southern California, a very upper middle class upper class neighborhood. Dr. Phil Letty ran a weight loss clinic. And I mean a very successful weight loss clinic where they were looking at patients were losing 100 200 300 pounds this wet and attended town get this is a losing hundreds of pounds. Patients were dropping out, he noticed there was a really high dropout rate. And they were losing 200 pounds yet they dropped out of the program, several 100 So he started calling people in and he interviewed and he started interviewing. And one day, one day he made a mistake. And he said, How much did you weigh when you first had sex? He made a mistake. She said 40 pounds? And he said Hang on I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I meant How old were you when you first had sex? And she said four years old. And he said what? And she said my father write to me my entire life. And then I was at home. Okay, so he thought he'd only had one case of incest his entire life. I think it was the internal medicine doctor. Fast forward, interviewing more and more raped, molested betta dads in prison moms in prison, all hungry. So as other people become and other colleagues to interview clients, patients same story over and over and over. Yes. He was like something's This is not right. Not right at all. Long story that CDC got involved with this. He went to the CDC, they can't they ended up with a 17,000 patient population study. So that adverse the ACE questionnaire is based off of 17,000, white, mainly white, upper middle class, college educated people in Southern California in the Kaiser Permanente program, or health insurance programs are not all inclusive of blacks, browns, all colors, right? All educational backgrounds. So what they discovered is that, okay, it wasn't it wasn't comprehensive. But if it's this prevalent in this population, then imagine what it is nationwide and worldwide. So they've done more studies after that. It's not the end all be all. But the American Academy of Pediatrics says this is the number one I think it was Dr. Walk used to be the president number one public health crisis in the United States that we missed, we missed it, we better start implementing this questionnaire with our pediatric patients and their mothers and their fathers. Because the answers are oftentimes very different.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 13:47

So what do we do about it? So if you've been clinicians who are listening, say, I'm going to start using this in my practice, or if patients go online, and they take the questionnaire and they say, Holy cow, I have a high score. How do we heal trauma? That to me is challenging. I don't know if you're comfortable sharing how you start with your patients and what has been beneficial for you. But that's absolutely yeah, let's spit some hope into this.

Dani Williamson 14:09

Well, let me tell you, I get into therapy as soon as possible, right. And so I say to them, look at this just today, just today, the very last patient of the day before I ran ran in here, she's having all these esophageal spasms, all of these sorts of things center esophagus, stretch. I mean, she's got lots of things going on. And I said to her, I said, Hey, you know what, this is your throat chakra here. And there's a lot of trauma going on at home right now. I said, you can't speak. You can't speak your voice and entity as a daughter's get ready to be installed inpatient for some eating disorders. And I said so all that being said, and she would she'd never heard of throat chakras and closing down and all of this I said this, I said, Cindy, the body keeps score of everything that happened to you. So we start with treatment. I personally checked myself in Then 1,2,3,4 years ago, in November, it's called on site on site is world famous for experiential therapy and treatment, six days of treatment therapy in there's worth, the research shows about two years worth of treatment. Now, not everyone can go do that they come from all over the world to go to on site. And I literally lift out my trauma, the first time I was molested, I mean, you act it out, you work it out. I mean, this is hard core work. I've done EMDR I have done every kind of therapy you can imagine to work through this and to forgive my mother, for not projecting into millions of other people have the exact same story as I do. And so I get them into the best treatment that I can find that they can afford. I have partnered up with sliding scale practices here that have huge practices. I know that people here who focus on trauma,

Dr. Stephanie Gray 15:55

I was just gonna say, I mean, ideally, they would see a trauma therapist.

Dani Williamson 15:59

You just don't talk this out, you go deal with someone who knows how to take you back to the truck, you know how to work through it, to go through it, because there's no way around it. I tried that for decades, it didn't work. You go right through it, and you work through the trauma, and you go through the hard part. And guess what we've already been through the hard part. The healing is difficult, but you have to also open yourself up to it. It has made the biggest difference in my practice, and my patient outcomes, and their health and their healing. And not only with them, but with their families, for sure. Because as women, and again, I see mainly women, we technically are not the head of the household. I am the head of my household. I am a single mom for 20 years, but technically we're not. But we set the tone for the home. The second we walk in that door, and when Mama is sick, when Mama is emotionally torn up when Mama is dealing with the trauma, and all the things I mean the entire home feeds off of her of how she is and when she's happy and healthy and whole and her buckets filled up her vessels filled up to completely different household. So it's hard work. And I started on that again with healing the gut and working on stress and working on getting to sleep and things. But trauma is something that every single one of us need to learn more about the book, the body keeps score. There's a reason it's a number of seller. I don't have it right here behind me. But it's been a number of New York Times bestseller for decades. The deepest well is also I heard that one. Gosh, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris healing the long term effects of childhood adversity. Our body keeps the score of the trauma. Oftentimes, whatever happened, whatever. It doesn't have to be something dramatic. But if it's traumatic to the child, then it's traumatic. And it affects them. It's key I'm telling you, when you address the trauma, you change the entire trajectory of the entire family.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 18:12

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Dani Williamson 19:16

Eye movement rapid - What is it distance to take decent something like that? Yeah, I can't pronounce the last word. I can't remember what the last word is. And that is literally going back to your trauma. So they take you back to your trauma and you visualize a safe space. And I'm no expert in that I went through years ago, and it's hard core work. I mean, you go through sessions out Have you ever done EMDR and you never know. You have to have a specialist or somebody who's trained in EMDR. But you're going back to the trauma, you're going back to the hard part, the scary part, whatever it is, whatever it is, it's different for everyone. For me it was you know, being molested or being beat up that that night my senior year and working through it. going through it and but then also having a safe place to go in your mind and so they teach you all of that and there's a there's some tapping involved in it somehow tapping, emotional, Emotional Freedom Technique EFT. Do you know Nick Ortner?

Dr. Stephanie Gray 20:16

No, but I've had a guest she'll air before you that talks about the emotional freedom technique.

Dani Williamson 20:21

That is a game changer for trauma patients and anxiety patients, I all you can do is sit down, you can sit on an airplane and watch the people who know tapping and who are tapping right or literally tapping. I mean, you don't care how you look, if you've got anxiety. It is fascinating. And all of those things EMDR experiential therapy, talk therapy, hypnosis, I just went through some hypnosis, dealing with the trauma. I just went through an entire thing with a hypnotherapist here, there's not one thing that works for everyone.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 20:54

So you came up with six steps to healing that you use in your practice and you've alluded to some of them we know that you prioritize assessing for childhood trauma, which is amazing. And then you're you're sending patients off to you know, a therapist, that's going to be a good fit for them. But how did you come up with these six steps and let's break them down. So list them out.

Dani Williamson 21:14

Eat well. Sleep well move well, poop well. Destress well, cultivate community well.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 21:21

Let's break each one down. I mean, let's start with eat. Well, what that means

Dani Williamson 21:25

We've got to start with what's at the end of your fork, it'll heal you or kill you. I say it every day. The biggest redneck ever, and it's like what goes down the pie hole will heal you or kill you. We have decades of research on this. I spent all those years chronic diarrhea not one time did a gastroenterologist said Danny, what are you eating? What are you eating? That canned icing you've been eating for years when you got stressed out it was like my crack right? That a cracker icing that's destroying your gut. You've got to figure out for me I work with food intolerances, food sensitivities and I immediately start to heal their gut with L glutamine and some probiotics and some digestive enzymes maybe if they need them in multiple things, really learning how to eat because that's what it is. We are so emotionally connected to food you know this, that it's the most difficult thing in my opinion you'll ever do is to change your diet. We eat the same food over and over and over we feed our kids the same five or six meals their entire life. This takes work eating one ingredient God made food in seasons spring is here. Hope eventually and Middle Tennessee and all the spring and summer foods are coming in. We are designed to eat God made one ingredient foods. I tell people everyday. There is a reason Chic fil A and I'm not picking on Chic fil A or McDonald's or Burger King or any of that. But there's a reason Chic fil A in Franklin Tennessee has a line around it right now at four o'clock in the afternoon. Same line is in Des Moines, Iowa are the same lawn around that building in Salt Lake City, Utah. It's about addiction. If you think the food industry has your health in mind you are sadly mistaken every chicken sandwich there was made in the chemistry lab. Nobody's chicken sandwich tastes the same every time we cook it or nobody's biscuits from like Cracker Barrel. I've consulted with Cracker Barrel on their menu. All of that is a chemistry experiment. It's fake process, manmade food and it's about addiction and they have one they have done it. There's a lot every day around every one of them because we are addicted to fat, salt, sugar, and it takes re learning unlearning everything we've learned about food. And if you don't cook, I can't help you get well I am sorry, because cooking is self care. You don't have to be a gourmet cook but you need one ingredient foods. There's not much olive oil, salt and pepper won't make tastes good. You can chop a carrot for crying out loud or a brussel sprouts or broccoli or cauliflower. So we start with the diet we got to eat well. We assess all of that we work with you on that and then you got to move well, if you need to move your body our bodies designed to move if you're not exercising. I don't care if it's hula hooping I'm getting ready to do an hour and a half long hula hoop class at the office. We're offering it to anybody who wants to come. I don't care if it's EULA hooping ballroom dancing, skateboarding, whatever move your body. We are designed to move when you move better you eat better the research is heavy as so strong on this when you exercise you also have a better sex drive. It's not one of my six steps but it's a big piece of steps to getting better right is your your sex drive and your libido so you got to move and you got to figure out what that is for you. Are you better in the morning? Are you better in the afternoon? I mean, I don't care when you do it. Just move Eat Well sleep. OH, Sleep asleep. Let's go to sleep. I own Most think the longer I do this job. I really believe that sleep. It possibly is more important. I can't be more important than food, but it is right there side by side because if you don't sleep, you're never going to eat well. You're never going to move Well, you certainly aren't going to poop well, your body heals when you sleep. Your bedroom is to be a sanctuary. You know this doctor great. We're sitting in front of ring Lodge, we got a computer in front of us, you got a phone with satis we are bombarded with electromagnetic fields. But that bedroom better be clear of all of that the bed is for sleep and sex only. If your bedroom is a pigsty like my office is right now. It's just one cluttered, chaotic crap storm in here right now. You're not going to sleep. It needs to be clean. It needs to be cool. It needs to be dark and it needs to have nothing in it. No TV, no computer, no cell phone, no nothing. Sleep and sex only.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 26:00

I totally agree. I'm all about creating a sleep sanctuary.

Dani Williamson 26:04

Like when you cross that and if you don't sleep all night, this is in my sleep well chapter in the book. You don't have to sleep all night, I have learned a lot about sleep researching this book. We never did sleep all night. For hundreds of years, we had something called segmented sleep first and second sleep. Everyone went to sleep and slept for five hours. They got up four or five hours later, they had sex they stirred the beans. They made the pot whatever they did, I don't know read the Bible. So whatever. And then they went back to sleep until they woke up. And it's not how long you sleep. So I've really changed since I wrote this book. It's not how long you sleep or how if you sleep all night. It's how do you feel when you wake up in the morning? How do you feel? Give yourself some grace. If you wake up in the night, don't stress over this. Don't get up. I mean, don't do crazy things. Give yourself some grace. When you go through menopause like I did three years ago. I hadn't slept all night ever since then. But I feel good when I get up in the morning. So I don't stress about it. So you sleep well move well. Poop Well, what nobody poops anymore. I've never had that problem. Because you know, I spent years with chronic diarrhea. Yeah. Not worry about that. But if somebody tells you they only poop once or twice a week, you are desperately constipated. Totally agree. I tell patients nine month old poodle laying right here beside me. We're supposed to poop like our poodle. They eat and they go in food not too much lot longer, right? I've never seen that dog have diarrhea or be constipated. I don't know what happens in their gut. But they've got it. And then they're very excited when they can as well. So we need to poop. And we got to figure out how to get us pooping. You're not going to go to the bathroom. If you're not eating well, or sleeping well or moving? Well, every bit of that gets the bowels moving. Nick, maybe you need some magnesium to poop a little bit better. Maybe you need a better probiotic company. Maybe you need more fiber. Of course we work with all of that. Eat Well sleep well move well, poop Well, de stress. Well,

Dr. Stephanie Gray 28:17

I feel like that's the hardest for many people, including myself.

Dani Williamson 28:20

We fly around like monkeys over here, just non stop. We pile so much on our calendar that we can't keep up. Nothing gets on your calendar unless you put it on there. Dr. Gray, if you sent me this email and what had me on this podcast, and I didn't have the time or the tolerance or whatever, I had the right to say, I can't do that. I'm telling you, I'm tapped out. As women, we don't do that. We have no margin in our life. Set some margin. I don't know who's listening to this. It needs to hear this. But don't say yes, unless it is a fantastic idea for you. You don't have to be the room mother. You don't have to be the Boy Scout leader, the Girl Scout leader, the kid's going to still advance on without you being involved in it. Set your boundaries, automate, eliminate and delegate everything you can in your life so that your vessel is filled up and you're not pouring from an empty vessel. Eleanor Brown says you don't. We're a nation of empty vessels. We're pouring from empty vessels when you are full and your oxygen mask is on first. You are a full vessel and you're overflowing. It's the overflow that everyone else gets. They don't get your vessel. No. If your children were sick, you would take care of them. Why won't you take care of yourself, automate everything you can eliminate everything you can and delegate everything else. You are worthy to be 150% and as women and I'm on aboard for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, phone calls to suicide crisis lines are up 800% Since the pandemic 800% We are in a mental health pandemic like we've never seen ever here. And so stress is real and it will kill you. It causes your immune system to be lower, it causes your adrenals to burn out it's it's it's an it's an epidemic. There's nothing wrong with cutting things out. You don't like your job is killing you like what was happening to me seven and a half years ago? Well, I left my job, right? You got a bad marriage. I'm not telling you to divorce. But maybe maybe there's some things worse than divorce. I can tell you that I was in a verbally emotionally abusive marriage. I got out. You've got friends that are dragging you down and family members that don't respect your boundaries. You know, if you believe in Jesus, Jesus put water between him and his tribe when he needed it. He went off alone. He prayed alone. He slept alone. He did the things he put some distance between him and his people. If Jesus had to do it, then for crying out loud,

Dr. Stephanie Gray 31:14

it's okay where you're not weak for doing that.

Dani Williamson 31:17

You bet. Eat Well sleep well move. Well poop well. Destress well cultivate community key. He knew all about community, right? He had 12 in his tribe that were his people, but even inside his tribe, he had a tighter group of people. You don't need a ton of people in your life. Community is life giving. You're healthier. The research is clear. You have less chronic disease. You have less inflammation when you're laughing with your people. What's today, today, Tuesday or Wednesday? I don't think today, Wednesday. God It's Wednesday, all day. It was Tuesday, Friday night at 5:30. I have my girls night. I do it usually twice a year. I've got 11 girls coming. Yes, it's a pain in the butt. My house is a mess. We're doing a huge charcuterie gig over here. And I've got my tribe with me Thursday or Friday night all but to can be here. When you have your tribe, you are happier, healthier. And I mean it's it's just life giving. But we're a lonely society because we have socially isolated I'm not blaming social isolation on anything. But what I'm saying is that's not life giving. And all you need is one oak trees, sequoia trees, they just need a few roots to hold themselves up these big old trees. It's key community is key. And those are my six steps. I don't know how it happened. 12 years ago, I didn't know what I was doing. I got my job. I thought I knew understood the ER apparently I didn't. Then I got this job in a functional medicine clinic. Right. I had no clue what these people were talking about ashwaganda, what the heck were caucus? What? What are you talking about? And so I just thought, Okay, I gotta bring this down to common sense medicine, what's going to help us and that's how I came up with it. And it worked. And I go through that at the office all day every day with patients. I break it down to common sense practical medicine. We are far away from common sense medicine.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 33:20

You made it simple. I love those steps. I love the steps. You've probably heard a lot about fish oil. It's one of the most common supplements available after all, but have you wondered if you should be taking it and why you might want to think about it. The simple answer is yes. If you don't have access to fresh fish several times per week, you can likely benefit from supplementation and may even need to I test many of my patients fatty acid levels and have found that the overwhelming majority of my patients are low in omega threes. omega three fatty acids are essential cornerstones of human nutrition. They are deemed essential because we need them for proper health, much like certain vitamins and minerals, but unfortunately, we can't produce them on our own. As a result, our only option is to consume these fats either through our diet or through supplementation. omega three fatty acids are known to benefit cardiovascular health, support healthy brain function and cognition, and have been proven to maintain a healthy inflammatory response. For all these reasons. Achieving the proper balance of omega threes is an important health strategy one for which most people require supplementation. Simplified fish oil can help improve your cholesterol glucose help your memory reduce pain, even headaches and menstrual cramps. I typically start my patients with one to two grams or 1000 to 2000 milligrams per day of combined Ecosa pentameric acid which is EPA and docosahexaenoic acid which is DHA daily. Our your longevity blueprint Omegas are stabilized in vitamin E oil and rosemary extract is used to ensure maximum purity and freshness. This exclusive fish oil is purified vacuum distilled and independently tested to ensure heavy metals pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls PCBs are removed to undetectable levels. Plus, our official has the shortest See to shelf time, meaning from fish to bottle or capsule of only three to six months as compared to the industry average of 18 to 36 months. Seriously, that means most of the fish oil you buy over the counter is old, oxidized, rancid and not helpful that fish oil purchased over the counter could be three years old already before you ingested. Yuck. With over 10,000 published studies in the last three decades, EPA and DHA from fish oil are among the most researched natural ingredients available and have a long history of safety and efficacy. Check out more product information on our website, your longevity blueprint.com and use code omega threes for 10% off. Now let's get back to the show. So I want to go back to them of course again, because I want to go back to the food piece which is foundational and that's a huge part of kung fu medicine. It's chapter one in my book, Your longevity blueprint, really healing that reducing inflammation there. So let's spend some time on this. Because how do you feel your patients react when they're being told to change their diet?

Dani Williamson 36:00

The last one today I've seen her for years and she finally is getting ready to she's never cut gluten and dairy out right. And they are emotionally frozen when I say this to them, right? Everything I eat Danny This is everything eight? Yes, it is. And we're going to do this a baby steps in a perfect world. You cut all seven out at the same time that was that? Right? And some do. I had a new patient I said it was her second visit today. She did it. She did what I asked them to do I do a 10 day detox and she came back and she said I cannot believe how much better I feel. And she's 12 pounds wider. Now that's unusual, honestly, because a lot of people change gluten free food for gluten free products. But that doesn't work either at all, but they are emotionally paralyzed. If you want to know the truth, when I ask them about this, and then they're overwhelmed. And the first trip to the grocery store is a nightmare. Because they can't figure it out. And I'm like it's real simple. It's one ingredient food. Do you see this with your patients?

Dr. Stephanie Gray 37:02

Oh, yes. Oh, yes. And I want to mention because we had we had talked about this before we started recording that's a seven just for the listeners that seven foods that Danny was just referring to. I mean, I'm with you. I usually start patients gluten and dairy free. But if they'll if they're not having the results they want and if they can't afford food sensitivity, testing, whatnot. Then the seven foods that JJ virgin came on the show in January 2020 to talk about removing we're gluten dairy, soy corn, peanuts, sugars. What am I forgetting eggs? And eggs? Yep, yeah. So for many people, if they will wipe the slate clean and take them all out, they will feel amazingly better and lose weight.

Dani Williamson 37:39

You bet. I have sold 1000s of books for JJ since 2012. When I started this in 2010, Dr. Cow was having people cut those seven foods out before she wrote the book, right? And so we did this huge hand out and all these papers. She wrote the book in 2012. I've adopted that that's part of my three step program for I do a 10 day detox and then I eliminate those foods when it's just I've sold a gazillion books, it's too late. It's the most easily explained book basically written at a fifth grade level here we are promoting her book and you and I have books. Whatever it takes to get people to learn because she broke it down at a level to where everyone can understand. And eggs, eggs, quite frankly, eggs tick people off almost worse than gluten and dairy does. Because they're the perfect little protein right i Lady today she's studying the ABA because I'll tell a lot of us and I know that but your body hates eggs, because I didn't have a food sensitivity on her. I said your body hates eggs. I need you to give it up. And I showed her she goes I ate cage free eggs. And I Googled up cage free eggs for her to look at what a cage free chicken is one chicken in with 40,000 other chickens that's cage free. That's not free range pasture, right? So cage Don't be tricked on that so so people are she was horrified looking at those horrible chickens and 40,000 of them right in a in a big building and stuff. But it's the hardest thing to do is to change the diet. They'll work on the sleep they'll work on but I have learned if you don't decrease the inflammation about working on the gut and what you're eating. We never get where we need to be we get better but you're never optimal and I'm shooting for optimal not just normal. You know I want to get back to where you were before everything started falling apart.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 39:36

Totally totally agree and I think you have like an inflammation is the devil Of course. Is that right?

Dani Williamson 39:41

Yes. Yeah. And we love just lowered the price when the book came out and we never even raised it back up. It's $29 it's a good course. You know everything we just talked about, but way more in depth. Information is the devil. That's good. And then that's a good little course. And of course the book is a really good low guide like yours?

Dr. Stephanie Gray 40:01

Well, let's come back to that. Let's circle back around to the book. And for the listeners, we'll definitely put the link to the inflammation course in the show notes. You clearly live wild and well, even your hair matches the wild and well, I love your curly hair. Curly hair, too. I need to embrace it. I'm getting there.

Dani Williamson 40:16

This was pre COVID. And I've had COVID twice. And I was telling the lady today she goes, Well, I think your hair looks great. That's beautiful way near the same hair. It was here two years because this was done two years ago. Well, I didn't months ago or so. Oh, yeah. But yeah, but anyway, it's fun, though. Looks

Dr. Stephanie Gray 40:34

Beautiful. So tell us no, but was kind of the inspiration for your book.

Dani Williamson 40:39

I've had a good friend in this town for years. Michael Hyatt who's written multiple New York Times bestsellers. And he lives here in town with his family, and asking him all time, and he said, Danny, you need to write a book, you are trading time for dollars over there. One on one, one on one one on one with these patients. Your story is amazing. What you do helps people and you need to write a book. So then I call Josh Axe, who also lives in Franklin, we're real lucky. We've got like all the New York Times bestsellers here, Josh, I've known forever since he was doing what I'm doing seeing patients one on one. After Josh got around a book. He said, Well, you're going to be okay, what you're you go. And so he wrote the foreword. But he said, here's how you do it. And I wanted to help hundreds of people, 1000s of people, maybe millions of people, somehow some way more than just doing this one at a time, because I'm living proof that whatever you turn on, you can turn off. It's as simple and as complicated as that right there. And there's not enough gluten in the world to make me go back to how I felt 12 years ago. And also, I wanted to put the word out there that you know what, you're not broken. If you've had childhood trauma, and most of us did, we need to address it, we need to get that nailed down. We need to move through it, not around it. And you can do every single bit of that and live the life that you were designed to live. And that's why I wrote it and how I wrote it and broke it down as a manual like that. Because if I can do it, anyone can do it. I was raised in a small town. No money, Bear. I mean, I mean, I took the AC T one time they did 15 applied to one college and God and when I mean good, Lord, I am smart, but not that smart. And I'm living proof that your body is designed to be 150%. And man when you are if you want to shout it from the mountaintops and that's why I wrote the book. So I

Dr. Stephanie Gray 42:41

do want to circle back around your health because you opened with all the things you were struggling with. So where is your health now? Are you at that? 150% Where are you at?

Dani Williamson 42:49

I am except I got COVID in January to mess my gut up again, which is really interesting because I've had any issues for a decade. I am hormonally balanced. Thank you Jesus past menopause, I feel good hormones. I'm not on Janee lupus medications, depression medication, nothing I take low dose Naltrexone and progesterone and then a lot of vitamins, and I feel good, my weak spot is exercise. And I irritated at myself over that my diet is good. I mean everything on all that stuff's good. My exercise is my weakest point. We've all got a weak link somewhere. And that's me and I'm irritated right now about it because I love to move my body. But once you get out of the habit of exercising, it's hard to get back in so I feel good. I feel better now than I felt in my 30s Oh no, I feel better now. I felt my 30s I felt horrible my 30s and just kept pushing through. I'm not ever going back to that I felt rough in my 40s but I feel like a million bucks. I'm closer to 16 than I am 50 now and I am gonna the next 56 years are going to be much better than the first 44 I can tell you that.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 44:00

I love it. I love it. I love it. Okay few last questions tell the listeners what free gift you have.

Dani Williamson 44:05

We have a free shopping not well yeah, it's a swapping list. Not a shopping list a free swapping list if you're eating flour tortillas consider corn tortillas are really don't do that almond or cassava tortillas you know it's a shopping that law shopping list. I send out a newsletter randomly so you will not get spammed a lot of newsletters stress me on that one. So if you just go to Danny williamson.com Sign up for that and or sign up for our newsletter and you'll get a free swapping list which is pretty good you can take it to the person etc

Dr. Stephanie Gray 44:37

Awesome my last one my next question was going to be working listeners find you so there's your website what about social media? Are you on social media?

Dani Williamson 44:44

Danny Williamson wellness and Instagram Facebook and YouTube all the same Danny Williams some wellness somebody has the Danny Williams someone and so if I could find out who it is read get that I would but so we met yeah and we get For out just like you do a tremendous amount of education every single week, every week, a lot of education. So, free education. That's how you can get in touch with us. And if you're ever in Franklin or Nashville, Tennessee, come see us. We have a great supplement store and a clinic too. But sports open six days a week, so tons of great wellness stuff, not just vitamins.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 45:23

Well tell us your your top longevity tip you have, obviously all your tips of longevity. But what's your absolute top longevity tip?

Dani Williamson 45:31

Well, you need to believe okay, this would be my best one, I think is that you need to know and believe that you're not broken at all. Nope. Once you believe that, you may say it. Once you believe that your body starts to turn around. We doubt that we're not sick. We're not broken.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 45:53

No one has ever said that. I keep saying I love it. I love it. I love it. But I do. That's great.

Dani Williamson 45:57

I think it's key, you know, and when you leave it, you know, we say I'm sick, I'm sick, something's wrong, something wrong. No metabolically, you're probably pretty good. It's probably the wellness piece of it the emotional, physical, spiritual, mental, sexual, financial. So whatever that's out of balance. And when we start to get that imbalance, everything falls into place. We're not broken. We're not broken creatures. We're not perfect, but we're not broken.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 46:27

No, we aren't. Well, thank you so much today for coming on the show. I love that we started the episode talking about how important it is to really assess childhood from I hope the listeners glean a lot out of x. I think that's a very important point, especially now with mental health on the rise. So thank you for pointing that out. And really just sharing how we all can live wild and well I hope everyone checks out your book and get your free resources. So you were another wealth of knowledge loved having you on the show. Thank you so much.

Dani Williamson 46:52

Appreciate ya doctor. Great, thank you.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 46:57

That was so interesting. A huge take home for me was to automate, eliminate and delegate and know that when my vessel is full, that overflow spills onto others here and guests like Danny overcome as much as they have are truly inspiring and I as a clinician have learned how important it is that I include use of the Asus questionnaire for adults with my patients. I'll post a link to that in the show notes along with her inflammation course and website. I'll also post links to the book she mentioned the body keeps score in the deepest way. Be sure to check out my book your longevity blueprint. And if you aren't much of a reader, you're in luck. You can now take my course online where I walk you through each chapter in the book. Plus for a limited time the course is 50% off, check this offer out at your longevity blueprint.com and click the Course tab. One of the biggest things you can do to support the show and help us reach more listeners is to subscribe to the show. Leave us a rating and review on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen. I do read all the reviews and would truly love to hear your suggestions for show topics guests and for how you're applying what you learn on the show to create your own longevity blueprint. This podcast is produced by Team podcast thank you so much for listening and remember, wellness is waiting

The information provided in this podcast is educational no information provided should be considered to be or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult with your personal medical authority.