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GUEST EXPERTS
How to Reduce Stress with
Breathwork from Carla Stanton,
MD, MRCGP
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How to Handle Kids and Food

from Chelsea C. Elliott, MSW
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How Amino Acids Impact Disease

from Csilla Veress, ND, Dipl. OM
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 1

How to Reduce Stress with

Breathwork
Carla Stanton, MD, MRCGP

Adigo: Dr. Carla Stanton, thank you very much that stress was my big trigger for any flare up of
for joining us. I am delighted to have you in the disease. Now, as I understand it, there’s three
summit.  different types of stress. There’s like chemical
stress, food that we eat, and the information we
Dr. Stanton: Oh, thank you so much for inviting give to our body. There’s physical stress, there’s
me, I’m really excited to delve into what we’re traumas, and then there’s emotional psychological
going to discuss today. So thank you for having stress, and anything that takes us out of balance
me.  brings disease, and for me, it was stress. 

Adigo: A pleasure. So one of the aims of the
summit is to increase understanding of how the
body works and that’s to let people make better
choices for themselves. And part of that is to
understand how what we talk about intersects
with nutrition as well. So we’re going to really talk
about heart rate variability in this. Listeners, don’t
worry, we’ll go through it step by step to try and
understand what that means. I’d love the listeners
to get a sense of you, so I wonder if you’d be
willing to share part of your personal story. I know
that you suffered from eczema from quite an
early age. So tell us what happened and how you
came to find a cure, if you will?  which are mostly based upon meditation and
Dr. Stanton: So yes, from a young age, from three
months, I had eczema, quite severe eczema, and
throughout my youth, really, I had various things,
asthma and some chronic fatigue as well. So I
knew what it was like to be on the other side of
it but that was actually one of the reasons I went
to med school. I wanted to understand and have
some control over what was going on.  really, the power of emotions on physiology.
But what I found was that for me, over the years
So despite my medical training, I just didn’t have
the understanding physiologically, how does that
work? How can I take control of it? So, on that
journey, I started to look into the power of the
mind, the mind body connection. How emotion
influences our physiology. I trained in functional
medicine through that process. I wanted to have
a marker, something that was tangible, rooted in
science. 
So I studied under Dr. Joe Dispenza, who
teaches a lot about the science of the mind
body connection. Following his practices,
metacognition, being aware of your thoughts
and feelings. That process really transformed
my eczema, such that it’s never come back. That
was the final piece that I needed. So his work, I
was just fascinated by, he’s really into the science
of measuring things. So I trained under the
HeartMath Institute, which looks at heart rate
variability, which I know we’ll go into in a bit, but

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Adigo: I mean, that just on its own sounds
remarkable. That kind of tending to stress and
exercising or training your mind to better deal
with it; that alone kind of had such an impact that
your eczema went away. That’s incredible. 
Dr. Stanton: Absolutely. And it was just
something that I was never really aware of. I
mean, I guess, as doctors, we know that the
phenomenon that your thoughts affect your
body, that white coat hypertension example,
or white coat syndrome, we know that people
get sometimes a little bit anxious about having
a procedure and their blood pressure goes up.
And that’s a thought, it’s not that something’s
happened, and that’s on a very sort of subtle level.  yesterday and he was saying that he had a happy
So over time, that actually has an impact on
your autonomic nervous system, which is that
unconscious nervous system, which is running the
whole show behind our awareness that keeps that
balance, it’s so complex. So yeah, by beginning to
become aware and more aware of my body, and
working with it than rather against it was for me,
the thing that changed everything. 
Adigo: And what you said kind of brings another
kind of question to mind in terms of curiosity
about— you talked about the eczema, you talked
about fatigue and other symptoms. So stress as a
mediator for you is quite prominent. Do you have
a sense of, your resilience to stress, how is it that
it came to be or has been such a factor for you,
whereas it might not have been for somebody
else?  a weird way, unrelaxing because your body is like,
Dr. Stanton: That’s a really interesting question,
isn’t it? My personal awareness is that a lot of
it comes down to sort of really childhood and
coping mechanisms, the environment that I was
in. I had a great childhood but there were some
stresses around there. I was very sensitive to
stress, other people’s stress, and I think, sort of
adopted that as a habit of being naturally quite
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anxious. 
Adigo: That really resonates your level of
sensitivity. 
Dr. Stanton: So, my window of tolerance was low,
lower maybe than others. So I just needed some
tools to give me some more resilience, some more
capacity, and flexibility. That’s actually what heart
rate variability is, it’s really a measure of your
nervous system to have that cushion to kind of
take stress on and then adapt and recover from. I
think it all stems from childhood probably, for me. 
Adigo: I spoke to another speaker on the summit
childhood but one day, a young girl was abducted
and it was all over the news, and that flipped
him into a stressful response. In terms of fear of
being abducted, fear of dying, and he developed
OCD afterwards. But again, it’s that, where is
your baseline and what else is happening in your
life that will cause the emergence of disease or
symptoms, and signs? 
Dr. Stanton: Exactly. So yeah, if we get put
into that fight or flight response from a young
age, when we’re still developing so much
unconsciously, what we know is that over time,
the autonomic nervous system gets entrained
that that’s normal; that anxiety is normal; that
stress is normal. So much so that that’s why
sometimes, for us who have been anxious for so
long that to sit down to meditate or relax, feels in
“Yeah, do something.” 
Because the body has become the mind, is like,
“No, no, no, it’s not time to relax, your natural
state is stress,” and that kind of becomes like a
comfort zone in a way. So over the years, and
that’s how it can be so hard to change, to redirect.
But as I know, your message is that it’s possible,
it’s absolutely possible with the right tools to
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change our physiology.  Dr. Stanton: Absolutely. It’s not that black and
Adigo: Absolutely. So yeah, I’d love us to get a
bit into more detail about heart rate variability,
about biofeedback. Now, with that training, there
are many responses that HRV, practicing it can
yield improvements in many different conditions.
There’s a lot of literature out there. Anything from
asthma to IBS to depression. And I wonder, from
your experience in the field, working with people,
what’s the most unusual thing that has responded
that you perhaps wouldn’t have thought would
have responded? 
Dr. Stanton: Well, I’ve actually seen some
incredible things through the work that I’ve done
with Dr. Joe Dispenza. People honestly, healing
from stage four cancers. Getting regression from
MS. Everything in my training that I would have
thought wasn’t possible. So I’ve been fascinated
and I do research with him, we’re like trying to
figure out, what is it at a cellular physiological
level that’s going on here?  metronome more or less, a nice steady state, and
Trying to understand it. So yeah, that’s been really
interesting to me. I’ve had people who come to
a meditation retreat for a week and we measure
their heart rate variability and certain markers
at the beginning of the week. And at the end, we
see just within seven days, these people have just
been sitting down.
Adigo: A big change.
Dr. Stanton: Yeah, they’ve just been sitting down.
They’ve been eating the same foods all week,
they’ve been doing the same kind of exercise.
They’ve just been sitting but just by changing their
thoughts and that has changed their heart rate
variability. Now, think about if we could change
their diet and other stressors, at how far we can
go.  then we have the feed and breed, rest and digest,
Adigo: Yeah, to rehabilitate.
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white. This is good. This is bad. It’s like what’s
[inaudible]?
Adigo: Where is the leeway to make some gains?
Absolutely. Now, I am a mechanistic geek and I’d
love to try and understand what it is we’re talking
about. So I’ll have a go and then and I’ll ask you to
extrapolate. So with heart rate variability training,
my sense is that we want to synchronize the
respiratory rate with a pattern in the heart rate
called the respiratory sinus arrhythmia. 
[10:00]
So what on earth does that mean? When you
think about the pattern of the heart rate, so I have
a one, two heartbeat going on. So what is the
respiratory sinus arrhythmia?
Dr. Stanton: It’s a great question. So I remember
always being taught that our heart beats like a
that’s healthy. But actually, that’s not the case at
all, because we are so complicated. The heart, the
way it’s beating at every moment, it’s constantly
adjusting to the environment and the stimulus. 
So it’s constantly speeding up and slowing down
in any moment to adjust to whatever you’re
doing. So if you get up and walk to the bathroom,
then your heart needs to beat a little bit quicker
for that. And we know this when pregnant
women give birth, they measure the baby’s heart
rate variability as a marker. We used to think it
was just in newborns, but we actually keep this
phenomenon throughout our whole life. 
It’s really controlled by two branches of that
autonomic nervous system. We have that fight or
flight; that stress response, very important. And
parasympathetic response, which relaxes us, and
they’re both equally important. We talk about
 4

this complexity, it’s not like, stress is bad and
relaxation is good. No, they all have a purpose.  the clearest I’ve come to understanding it so
Adigo: A place, yeah.
Dr. Stanton: Stress keeps you alive. When you’re
in survival, it wakes us up. Sometimes we need to
pull an all nighter and do things and that’s helpful,
and sometimes we need to relax and repair. So
it’s about having both of those. And when your
heart speeds up, that’s a sympathetic, a fight or
flight response. And when it slows down, that’s
parasympathetic, relaxation.  the rhythm is coming from the right place. And
So your heart is constantly doing a dance. It
speeds up, slows down, speeds up, slows down.
So, heart rate variability is really the variation, how
much it can speed up and slow down. We know
that the more it can speed up and the more it can
slow down, it just means your range, your capacity
to recover, and then sprint when you’ve got to run
away from that tiger or whatever. So that’s really
what it measures.  dis-ease, that it just becomes more rigid. We know
And so the beauty of our unique anatomy is that
the vagus nerve, which is really the governing
nerve of really both of those responses actually,
it’s really heavily affected by how we breathe
in every moment. So most of the time, we’re
just breathing, not thinking about it but we can
consciously start to affect our breathing, unlike
animals. So when you start to breathe slower and
deeper, that actually starts to stretch and activate
both branches of the autonomic nervous system. 
So as we breathe in, the heart speeds up, that’s
sympathetic and as we breathe out, the heart
slows down, that’s parasympathetic. So just by
breathwork alone, deeper, longer, conscious
breathing; that causes this respiratory sinus
arrhythmia, and all that means is that it’s a
normal, healthy rhythm, but it’s just irregular
because it’s breathing out. So I know that’s quite a
long explanation.  Adigo: So I couldn’t compare it.
Adigo: No, that’s beautiful. I love that. That’s
far. So that’s fantastic. And when you talk about
respiratory sinus arrhythmia, the sinus being the
compartment of the heart and stretch receptors,
I think, basically a part in actually transmitting the
message. 
Dr. Stanton: Absolutely. So we’ve got these two
major nodes in our hearts. So the sinus node is
really the main pacemaker and so that’s really
where it should start from. So when we say sinus,
it’s what we see, we’ve got a P wave, if you look
at an ECG on somebody. So we know that it’s
a healthy mechanism of really, electrically but
it’s arrhythmic, as in it is not a metronome. It’s
speeding up and slowing down, and that’s exactly
what health should be. 
Your body should be able to respond to the
environment and as we get older, or as we have
that HRV, for example, statistically reduces by 2 to
5% per year. So it’s a marker of age; it’s a marker
of health. But there are so many things that we
can do to affect it. Your diet being one of them,
exercise, our thoughts. So it’s a very changeable
marker of health. 
Adigo: Wow. And hearing you say it reduces by
2% per year, is there a number, like to— like,
could I say, “My HRV is blah,”?
Dr. Stanton: Yes, a good question is. So it turns
out there’s a lot of different ways that the geeks
have, like, come up with these formulae of
measuring HRV. So, we have things like SDNN and
RMSSD. So it depends on, first of all the type of
HRV that you’re measuring. Most do SDNN but its
age specific and it’s also you specific. It’s really a
relative thing. So [inaudible].

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Dr. Stanton: Exactly. How it is now, that’s fact, we know that actually, 80% of the ascending
interesting, I want to record that and then see traffic or 80% of the information is going from
how it is after an intervention or after I’ve done the heart to the brain. Only 20% is going from
something. So it’s very personal.  the brain to the heart. So actually, most of the
information is kind of traveling up. 
Adigo: So you compare it to what it was for you,
not to what it is for someone else.  Just like the gut brain axis, there’s so much
information that’s coming out from the gut to
Dr. Stanton: Exactly. It would be irrelevant to affect the brain. We used to think it was like this
compare my HRV to a 20 year old rugby player, top down phenomenon. But the more that we can
sort of thing. So it’s just what’s right for me, it’s like be in our bodies and get used to feeling how it
a fingerprint.  feels to eat certain foods, to move our body, know
what feels right, it’s really empowering and it’s
Adigo: Makes a lot of sense. And listening to kind of exciting. 
and watching you explain and describe and the
movements, I imagine that you’re a really good Adigo: Yeah, absolutely. So the next thing that my
dancer.  mind goes to is the training aspect of it. So is this
something I learn once and then it’s done? Or is
Dr. Stanton: Oh, thanks. this something that I’m assuming from the word
training, a practice element is required? 
Adigo: Do you dance?
Dr. Stanton: Oh right, yes, to influence your heart
Dr. Stanton: Well, I don’t know about that. rate variability? 
Actually, yes, I do. I do salsa. I actually went to
my first bar class this morning. You know like the Adigo: Yeah.
ballet bars?
Dr. Stanton: Yeah, I mean, absolutely. There’s so
Adigo: Yes.  many things that influence heart rate variability,
like diet, like exercise. But also, there are things
Dr. Stanton: Oh my goodness, I was trembling because of the power of the breath that is
so much because I’ve never done it before. It the quickest way to affect your physiology in
was really good fun. So I just feel like sometimes the moment, like instantly. What the research
having some good music to do some exercise to is shows is that simply by doing certain breathing
great, [inaudible]. techniques, for as little as 10 minutes a day,
but for two months, can actually change your
Adigo: It makes all the difference, doesn’t it? Yeah, heart rate variability. So that actually makes you
just the moving the body can be a kind of relaxing fitter and healthier just by changing the way you
as well, right? breathe. 

Dr. Stanton: Absolutely, yeah, a hundred percent. Adigo: Wow. 

We’re often just so stuck in our heads and our
body just moves us from one room to the next. Dr. Stanton: So many of us just aren’t breathing
What I’m coming to understand is that there’s no properly.
cut off here. This is a dynamic two way system. In

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Adigo: Shallow breathers. The diaphragm is not
involved.
Dr. Stanton: Exactly. Absolutely. It’s just stress.
And I can relate to this too, like over the years, if
you’ve been in stress, your body is just always just
trying to do the best it can, and it starts to breathe
in a different way, all up here, and that becomes
normal. You don’t think that you’re breathing
erratically, but simply by starting to engage
that diaphragm, more that belly breathing, that
regular, deep breathing, just 10 minutes.  parasympathetic, yes, a longer outbreath through
There’s many different incredible breathing
techniques and they all have their place. Like,
some of them induce more of a stress response,
which is great. It’s like building that muscle of
like going to the gym. And some of them really
improve and strengthen the parasympathetic, the
rest and digest. And we need both of them, like
muscles on our bicep. The one that sort of creates
the most flow, if you like, stretches both of them
at the same time, so it’s maybe the most efficient
way, is something called resonant frequency
breathing. 
Adigo: Ooh, tell me more.
Dr. Stanton: That was something that you alluded
to earlier. So we know that there’s a certain
resonance that physiologically, the autonomic
nervous system is influenced by it; it creates the
most flow because it’s the perfect balance of the
sympathetic and parasympathetic. So, simply
because when you breathe in, your heart speeds
up and you breathe out, your heart slows down,
if you do an equal cycle of that; that has been
shown to create like this physiological coherence
or flow state. And everyone’s resonant frequency
is a little bit different, but the main figure is about
five seconds in, five seconds out, five seconds in—
[20:00]
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Adigo: It’s interesting that that’s optimal because
I know that the 4, 7, 8 breaths became quite
popular, there was a thought that if your out
breath is longer than the inhalation, then that
stimulates more of a parasympathetic response. 
Dr. Stanton: Absolutely. And I would say, again,
they all have their place. Like, if we are go, go,
go, and we need to really relax the body. So for
example, if I’m trying to get to sleep, or eat would
be another example, I really need to get that
the nose is great. Holding the breath and rapid
breathing, like holotropic breathing, that’s more of
a sympathetic, and they’re both important. 
But the great thing with this resonant frequency
breathing, is it entrains flow. So it’s the perfect
thing to do if you are preparing to present or
you are doing something functional. Sometimes
when you’ve got to really relax, you can’t really
perform. So it’s kind of like a perfect balance of
flow. Like, “I’m relaxed, I’m creating,” and it’s more
sustainable, so [inaudible]. 
Adigo: Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Wow. So if
someone, having heard you, and they think, “Ooh,
am I breathing shallow or am I taking a proper
deep breath?” what’s something simple they can
do to see if they’re engaging their diaphragm? 
Dr. Stanton: So a really simple thing you can do
and we can do it now is simply by placing a hand
on the top of your chest and hand on your belly,
you can’t quite see my hand on my belly. But you
can place one on the other, and just simply, don’t
try and do anything. Just observe your breathing. 
You can just close your eyes, it’s often easier,
if you want to do this with us, and just start to
observe which hand is moving more. Is it your
hand on your belly or is it the hand on your chest?
And you can also get a sense of the rate, like, are
you breathing fast or are you breathing slow? 
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Adigo: And I’m picking up my heart rate with the
hand on my chest.
Dr. Stanton: Yeah, absolutely. You can connect
more with your heart. And also, over time, you
can start to bring more awareness. So if you’re
like, “Hmm, well, maybe there’s a bit of movement
in my belly, but I’m not sure.” Just by putting your
hand there, by breathing more deeply, you should
feel that hand move away from you a bit more. It
just brings more awareness to it. So this is a really
good, like training wheels thing.  stressed. Some of us need like a halfway, which is
Adigo: Are we aiming for more movement in one
hand than the other? 
Dr. Stanton: Well, essentially, what I would say
is, when you’re in a relaxed state, what should
naturally happen is that you breathe initially,
from your belly first, that should be the biggest
one, and then a little bit from your chest. But the
biggest one should really be your belly, because
we kind of oxygenate two thirds in the bottom
part of our chest. It’s the most efficient place to
breathe.  breathing techniques,” I would only use them
Adigo: And the diaphragm is at the base of
the chest. So that’s connecting or that’s what is
separating the chest from the belly.  the race day. So if he hasn’t done any training,
Dr. Stanton: Exactly, exactly. And so a big belly is
good in this example. We’re always taught that—
Adigo: “Let go of your tummy muscles.”
Dr. Stanton: Exactly, yes. This is the very time just
to let go and know that it’s the perfect thing to do.
Many of us are sort of taught, “Breathe in,” when
you’re trying to do your trousers up. People tend
to breathe in but that doesn’t make any sense
because when you breathe in, actually your belly
should go out because you’re inflating your lungs,
and you’re pushing your diaphragm down. 
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Adigo: Yeah, pushing your diaphragm down and
then your belly goes out.
Dr. Stanton: Your bellies should get bigger and
then when you breathe out, it should get smaller.
So just playing with that and you can visualize, just
five in, five out like, like rowing with oars, it’s just
a nice, smooth, gentle movement. And just doing
that, if you did that, if you’re stressed out and you
can do that. It’s sometimes hard to go straight
to that really relaxation mode when you’re really
why this resonant frequency breathing is really a
helpful place.
Adigo: And that kind of brings to mind the
importance of daily practice because by doing
that, you kind of put something in the reserve so
that when that big thing happens, you don’t have
to go from 0 to 100 because you’ve got some in
the reserve. So you only need to go from 0 to 50. 
Dr. Stanton: Exactly, this is it. So, what I found
when I first started doing these, I was like, “Oh,
when I was stressed and I found that they didn’t
really work for me. But just like anything, any
athlete has to put in the training to perform on
if he then tries to do this technique on race day
when they’re stressed, the payoff is not really
going to be great. 
So the idea is that you start simply. You start at
the beginning of the day or one time a day, when
you’re going to be disturbed, where you can really
tune in and start to get comfortable with it. And
that alone has shown to shift your baseline so
that when you do come to a stress, not only can
you do this technique and no one has to know
you’re doing it. That’s the beauty, you can keep
your eyes open.
I’ve used it in the most challenging of
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circumstances and I’m just breathing, and it helps
me be much more present in that situation. It
stops that brain freeze. So you’ll find that it’s more
effective when you use it during challenge. Also,
after a challenge. So, you just need five minutes to
just help you reset. 
Adigo: Gosh, that is awesome. And the other
thing that comes up there is it’s better to do a little
bit every day than spend an hour practicing on a
Sunday, right?  down and practice it, you then know you’ve got
Dr. Stanton: Yeah, exactly. Like anything, your
body responds to the frequency that you’re doing
it. So if you’re just doing a little bit every day,
and we know that the mind will always talk you
out of doing it, like, “Oh, I don’t have an hour or
even like a minute,” but just by committing to two
minutes— 
Adigo: Yeah, whatever you can manage.
Dr. Stanton: That will make a difference because
after two minutes, you’ll be like, “Oh, I think I’m
going to stay here a bit longer.” So it’s great, the
thin wedges and it just starts small, and you’ll start
to create a habit like that every day.  the training tool, I find is really helpful.
Adigo: I love that you’ve given the breathing
exercises, because it means that as you say,
anyone can do this at any time. So it’s accessible
across the board. Now, there are ways to get
support in terms of practicing and training. You
mentioned HeartMath earlier on. So there are
devices where you can wear wearables, and you
can have an app support you. So just say a bit
more about that sort of way of supporting your
training and practice.  sending out. So I think, just to tie it back to
Dr. Stanton: Many of us wear these wearables.
I’ve got one, an oura ring, people wear like Fitbits,
and all sorts. They’re really good for checking in
what’s going on with your HRV every day. But it’s
also helpful to have a tool that gives you real time
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feedback. I, at the moment, have no idea what my
heart rate variability is from this. So HeartMath
have tools that you can use just by clipping
to your ear, and it measures the pulse, and it
connects to a simple app on your phone. 
Not only can you see your heart rhythms in real
time, it also has visual paces. So if you breathe
five in, five out. Also, it can give you an audio
feedback. Sometimes if people want to just sit
real time feedback as to whether you’re doing it or
not. Sometimes we can meditate and inevitably,
the mind wanders. But if you’re wearing
biofeedback, it will pick up on the fact that your
coherence— that you’re not doing that resonant
frequency breathing, and it will make a noise, like
a ping. 
So it’s just a quick like, check in, like, “Oh, okay,
back to the breathing.” So it’s a training tool, so
that’s where it’s really powerful because we I
really love that science and the instant feedback.
So I know where I’m at. Whereas, some of these
other technologies are incredibly important and I
use them but they’re more like, retrospective. So
Adigo: Fantastic. I notice I’m in quite a relaxed
state at this point in the interview, and I think it’s
your voice and explanation. So I’m quite docile at
the moment and trying to wake myself up to be a
bit more entrained.
Dr. Stanton: Yeah, midafternoon like—
Adigo: It’s the relaxation too, the vibe you’re
nutrition with the subject of the summit, it was
interesting, because in my mind you hear that
inflammation is a stressor, inflammation is a
stressor, and I didn’t quite know how all the dots
join. So just in preparing for this, starting with
what you eat, as you say.
 9
So, a standard American diet, standard British
diet, high fat and lots of refined carbohydrates.
That will predispose you to obesity. We know
that obesity causes inflammation through
the mechanism of insulin resistance. And
the connecting factor, I think, is just that with
inflammation, it’s not something that exists in a
little corner in the body. It’s a system wide effect
in the body, and so even the nerves in the brain
are inflamed. So there’s neuroinflammation.  dysfunctional inflammation.
And of course, your sympathetic nervous system
is regulated in the brain. So that inflamed nerve
acts as a signal to the sympathetic nervous
system to fire off signals. And so that is one of
the pathways through which you can become
overactive in your sympathetic drive through what
you’re eating.  turned off, that’s when you run into trouble.
[30:05]
Dr. Stanton: Yeah, absolutely. Food is information
and it’s informing the body, it’s informing the
nervous system, and the nervous system, the
autonomic nervous system, as I said, it’s always
adapting. “Am I safe? Do I need to be survival
or relax and repair?” So if we’re stressing it out
with stressful foods, like as you say, there’s pro-
inflammatory foods.
Then that’s going to give a very different sending
message to— it’s going to affect how well each
of those 50 plus trillion cells that we have in our
body, depending on what research you read,
like, it’ll depend how that functions. And the
information that gives out to the next cell, how
these work together, and how it affects and all
leads into—
Adigo: and the microbiome is thrown in as well.  Dr. Stanton: Exactly. And this is why it’s really key
Dr. Stanton: Exactly. And we know HRV is one
of the most sensitive markers for health. So, a
reduction in your HRV, for your age is predictive of
Reverse Disease with Personalized Nutrition
all-cause mortality. So it’s very, very sensitive. It’s
like, there’s something up and it can’t just tell you
what it is but that’s stress. It’s basically stress. And
what is that, is it chemical, physical, or emotional?
And we know that diets which are rich, as you say,
in like high glycemic index, lots of high glycemic
carbs and trans fats, etc.; that has actually been
shown to reduce your HRV. I’m sure it’s all that
inflammation. Not that inflammation is bad but its
Adigo: There is a time and a place for
inflammation but it’s that on/off switch in terms
of stress. Stress that comes on and off, great,
builds resilience, and it can actually make you
quite hardy. But that continuous stimulation
with stress, so the inflammation that doesn’t get
 
Dr. Stanton: Absolutely. And that’s it. That’s why
we all need a tool, just to reset. So that’s why I
love sort of the impact of how we treat our bodies
every day, the information we’re feeding it is really
vital to help us recover. 
Adigo: Are there any non-technical ways of getting
a sense of your HRV, other than how you feel? 
Dr. Stanton: I’m just trying to think about
this. I mean, certainly, there are certain things
that we can just tune into in our bodies when
we’re relaxed. Certainly, the rate at which we’re
breathing can give us some feedback as to how
stressed we are. Our energy levels, how we feel in
the evening will give us some feedback as to how
stressed our bodies are.
Adigo: Yeah, how well they’re sleeping.
that in an ideal world, we would become masters
and we don’t need biofeedback and we know
like, “Oh, am I stressed out?” And that’s where the
biofeedback comes in handy, it’s like a bridge.
 10

So it can tell me, “Ooh, you’re very stressed at Adigo: Yeah, it creates space, doesn’t it?
the moment,” and I may not even know I was
stressed, and it’s like, “Oh, okay.” Dr. Stanton: Yes and it allows you to redirect. 

Adigo: Love that. I love that because we’re out of Adigo: And I love that creating space, kind
touch with our bodies. Right? So the messages, of fits in with the extent to which your heart
the signals are there but we’re so out of touch rate variability— the range of it. So, it’s all
that having an external device to tell us what our interconnected. 
bodies are doing might be helpful and help us
reconnect with our bodies.  Dr. Stanton: A hundred percent.

Dr. Stanton: Exactly. It’s a tool, and it’s something
called enteroception. So our ability to be aware
of the inflammation in our body. So any tool like
meditation, mindfulness, anything that’s kind
of real time can say, “Okay, this is really what’s
going on. Does that fit what I think?” And I have
to admit, when I first started this, I was like, “I’m
fine,” but I’d be really stressed. 
And so I had to spend some time getting used
to, without the device, knowing, “Okay, I can feel
I’m breathing a bit quicker. I can feel the tension
in my body,” and I can catch it much earlier now.
Rather than at the end of the day, and then I just
collapse. Now it’s like, I pick it up, and I deal with
it there and then and you kind of kill the monster
while it’s small. You have that reset. So that’s
really helpful and empowering.  address all these aspects. And when we do, when
Adigo: A lot of us are frozen in our emotions and
we don’t have access to kind of touch into what
is happening in those frozen moments. So if you
do have something that can kind of give you
an indication, then yeah, that’s a helping hand.
Definitely. 
Adigo: It’s been fascinating talking with you. I
have learned a lot and I’ve enjoyed it very much. If
anyone wants to find out more about your work,
how can they go about doing that? 
Dr. Stanton: So you can check me out at
thewholemd.com. 
Adigo: Great, a great website, great name. 
Dr. Stanton: Thank you. So I’m very passionate
about bringing these tools to doctors to help
nourish us as doctors as well, because we can
spread the word to our patients and also, provide
things for patients as well. So yeah, just as you
say, it’s the whole package. That’s kind of where
that name came from because we need to
we have that energy, then anything’s possible. 
Adigo: Fitting words to end on. Thank you very
much for joining me, Carla, it’s been a pleasure. 
Dr. Stanton: Thank you so much.

Dr. Stanton: Yeah, absolutely. Just by starting

to become aware, I can have a thought but I can
watch the thought and I can watch the emotions
and start to be objective by my subjective self. So
that’s really powerful as human beings. Animals
can’t do that. So when you can watch yourself and
be outside the box—

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How to Handle Kids and

Food
Chelsea C. Elliott, MSW

Adigo: Chelsea, thank you so much for joining us.
I’m really excited about the discussion that we’re
going to have. I feel that one of the main aims of
the summit is to examine our food practices and
that includes the relationships that we have with
food. And kids come to mind in that respect, picky
eaters, and all sorts of labels we put on them. 
So I’d really like to really just get into a discussion
about kids and their feelings, how they interact
with food. But that’s where we’ll end up, and
where I’d like to start is just hearing a little bit
about your personal story. I know that you said
that you’ve had to go through issues of mental
health and struggling with your emotions. Would
you mind sharing with the listeners a little bit
about that?  So along with that and being around a
Chelsea: Absolutely. I definitely have struggled
since I was a child with my mental health and not
being told things as a child, just having life happen
for me and around me so much that I had no
say, no control. And nobody talked to me about
what was going on. So we made this very large
move from sunny California, going to the beach
every weekend, to Ohio, to take care of a sick
grandparent who was not expected to live. He did
live for like 21 years after that.  and other substances that can be harmful.
through were a huge result of that trauma that I
experienced through that move. And my mom is
phenomenal, she did all that she could to keep
us safe, and have us in good environments, and
just protect us. But she wasn’t around very much
because she was doing all of that. 
And now that I’m a parent, I see the tradeoff, and I
see the sacrifices that she had to make in a whole
different light. But as a little kid, all you want is
your parents, all you want is some stability and
some structure, and to know everything’s going
to be okay. But it didn’t seem like that, it didn’t
feel like that; it just looked like everything was
taken away in an instant. 
grandparent that was not very supportive,
emotionally, I developed a lot of eating problems,
eating disorders. I know I struggled with bulimia
for a while and just had a lot of unhealthy
interactions with food and around food. So this
is something that I’m very passionate about
talking about, so that I can try to help other adults
see there are other ways to help their children
through their emotions so that they don’t turn to
outside things like drugs and alcohol and food,

So that was super awesome and I’m glad that Adigo: Gosh, that’s quite a lot there. So it sounds
we made that move, but it was very traumatic like your world was shaken with the move and
and I didn’t think of it as that until I became an perhaps, a lot of fear and anxiety, and nowhere to
adult. But the mental health struggles that I went anchor. Right? 

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Chelsea: Yeah. to calm me down, she said, “Go get your rabbits.

Adigo: With your mother being away and not
having the emotional support around. And so
that part of what we do, when we develop eating
disorders is to try and have some element of
control.  a black woman, I was told already as a black child,
Chelsea: It’s not really about the food, it’s about
the control and, “This is the one thing that I know I
can manage,” and it’s not healthy way to do it. But
that’s the one thing that people understand, or
even little kids understand that they can at some
point, decide “I’m going to only eat this, I’m only
going to eat at this time,” and it’s just not a healthy
way to manage that.  where they had a lot of Ph. D programs and
Adigo: So what happened? You went from being
in that state, to founding Somocom Lab . So what
TM
happened in the interval?  with anxiety and depression. “Yay!” I love the
Chelsea: Oh, goodness, so many things. It’s so
crazy because you hear people talk about their
passions and you want to live out your passion,
and find your purpose. I feel like that’s thrown at
us at all angles and so it kind of becomes a diluted
phrase at that point. But every single thing that I
went through, I would go through it again.
As hard as life has been, for me to get to where I
am right now with Somocom Lab, and having the
voice that I have and understanding the things
that I understand on a personal and professional
level so that I can help other kids who were in the
same situation. So I had really bad anxiety when I
was younger.  cover things up with the medicine and that took
I remember we had rabbits growing up. I don’t
know why my mom got us rabbits but we had
rabbits. And I remember calling her on the phone,
I was screaming crying because I was so worried
that she was going to die. Why? I’m like nine or
10 years old, screaming crying. I’m so scared that
something’s going to happen to her. So she tried
Pet the bunny,” and so I was petting them. 
But I remember that so vividly. Like, that was one
of the most anxious moments of my life; that I
had anxiety so bad as I was growing up. But being
depression is the devil. So you don’t believe in
God enough, your faith isn’t strong enough. So I
didn’t really talk about it with people. I didn’t know
what it was, I just knew I shouldn’t have it. So that
kept me holding it in a lot. 
As I got older and I went to college, I was finally
able to get diagnosed, like I went to a college
different students doing the diagnoses. So I was
diagnosed with ADHD, which I was like, “Yay!
Finally, I have a label for this.” I was diagnosed
labels, because you can work with them, right?
You know what’s going on with you so you can
work with it. So I got on medication and that was
super helpful. It was very, very helpful. 
Years later, I did not realize I could have children
but I found out that I was pregnant with my oldest
daughter. And my very first thought was, “Oh
crap, I don’t want to pass on my mental health
problems to her,” the very first thing I thought.
So then I got anxious about that. I stopped taking
my medication and I talked to my doctor about it.
Should not have done it the way I did it but I did it. 
I worked on myself internally, instead of trying to
a lot of work. It was extremely difficult, going
through that withdrawal was really hard, but I
knew I had to do something, something had to
work. So I discovered gratitude journaling and
reciting affirmations, and that completely changed
my life. It changed my relationship with food. It
changed my relationship with myself and the way
I interacted with the world, but it just changed

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everything.  is completely different than mine.” But it’s not that

I had struggled with suicidal ideation in— I want to
say it was a little bit before high school, but it was
really prevalent in high school. I would pick at my
wrist and cutting behaviors and things like that.
And I didn’t have any of that for the first time in
my life, like I had never seen life outside of feeling
like the world was going to end around me, all
the time. It’s really hard to explain because it just
sounds crazy when I say it out loud but that was
all I thought.
“Nothing is going to go right. I’m not doing
anything right. I need to just die,” and that was all
I thought. So finally being out of that headspace
and seeing things clearer, I was a whole different
person. Then I was bringing another human being
into the world, so I was like reborn, and then I
birthed the baby. And it’s like, you have to relearn
yourself after that whole process.  Somocom Lab, and to teach adults that emotions
So I’m going through all these counselors and
going through a lot of therapy and different
things. So keep that up. It was really hard. I had
really bad postpartum anxiety with my oldest.
And now with my youngest who’s one, my oldest
is five, my youngest is one, I had really bad
postpartum depression with her but I was able to
get through it a lot easier, because I know what I
know now.  When you say that all emotions are normal, that
So I created Somocom Lab so that the next
generation can grow up understanding that these
things can be normal, and that they can be fixed
because I did not grow up thinking that my brain
could be fixed. I thought I am the only person in
the world who will never be happy in my life. I’m
the only person who can never say, “Oh, I’ve never
had anxiety before.”  So to know that at least you belong. It’s under a
Like, when I hear people say that I’m like, “Oh,
that’s so crazy that somebody has never had this
before. That’s so weird that someone else’s brain
weird, because there are so many of us that are
struggling in the way that I’ve struggled. Not that
I enjoy that because I don’t want that for other
people but it makes me feel so human that I can
live another day. 
So that’s why I created Somocom Lab, it stands for
Social Emotional Communication. So the purpose
of it is to build communication with adults, with
children, so that it’s easier to talk to them. The
children are building their vocabulary, emotional
vocabulary, so that they can express themselves
in healthy ways. So that their behavior isn’t what
the focus is. It’s, “Oh, this is how you’re feeling.
Let’s work on that.” Not, “You need to stop doing
that. You need to sit down. You need to be quiet.”
I have a five year old, like I said, she’s already
gotten me today, but that’s my goal with
are normal. They’re real and it’s okay to feel them.
It’s totally fine to have all of them. They all serve a
very big, important purpose in our lives. We just
have to learn how to manage them. 
Adigo: That’s really wonderful.
[10:00]
really, really resonates with me, just because we
kind of have a sense that we shouldn’t feel certain
ways or that other people don’t feel, so welcoming
whatever comes up, that’s so, so valuable. Then
your celebrating when you got the diagnosis,
yeah, that’s like, before that point you think, “Is it
only me? Is everyone okay?”
label, but you belong somewhere. That’s pretty
powerful as well. The other thing that struck me
is that the impulse to give and share from your
experience. You experienced a shift, you found

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ways that helped you move through it, and then
the impulse was to share that with others and
help others. So that’s really admirable, I really like
that.  our younger selves so that we can continue to
Okay. So, in terms of the work with children
at Somocom Lab, you talk about almost a
triad, working with words, with play, and then
through their bodies as well. I love that. I love
the connecting to the body, because I think
that’s central to preserving health. Can you say
a little bit about that triad and why all three are
important?  practice. So we talked about your experiences
Chelsea: So one thing that I learned throughout
therapy is that our bodies feel whatever we’re
feeling in our head and so understanding the
connection between the two is really important.
So we would start the session with, “How are you
feeling?” “Oh, I’m feeling happy.” “Okay, what does
that feel like?” “Like, I don’t really know.” So really
looking internally, like, “My body feels warm when
I’m happy, it feels lighter. I feel airy inside.”
Or, “I’m feeling really sad today. I’m feeling really
depressed.” “Okay, what does that feel like?”
“It feels heavy. It feels like my heart is racing.
My stomach hurts. My hands are sweaty.” Like,
understanding how you physically feel when you
are feeling something mentally is so important
because you might not make the connection right
away.  used just in one specific way. So it has definitions;
So you might be feeling something in your body
without understanding, “Oh, wait, maybe I’m
feeling depressed today. Maybe I am anxious
right now.” You’re just feeling a stomach ache or
you’re feeling really sweaty, or you’re feeling really
fatigued, or really tired. So having that connection
is very, very important.  That one, I think, is probably the most important
Then for kids, you can teach them anything
through play. So teaching them how to do
these things while playing makes it not a chore
and it puts us back in a childlike state. So
we’re retraining, we’re reparenting ourselves
in that sense. We’re building up those skills in
grow and mature as an adult. So play is super
important for everybody at any stage in life and
it makes it more fun when you’re doing that
learning about your emotions. 
Adigo: I think that’s so valuable. The physicality,
we kind of miss out on it, especially as we become
adults and we stop playing. It should be a lifelong
getting to Somocom. Did you study psychology? 
Chelsea: Yeah, I have a background in psychology
and macro social work. So I’m not a clinician, but
more along the lines of social innovation and
creating programs and processes and practices,
and different things to put something good out in
the world. 
Adigo: Okay. We all need some of that. So, can
you describe a little bit about the processes?
We’ve talked kind of in broad terms about
what’s included, but more specifically about the
processes that you use within Somocom Lab, to
help people.
Chelsea: So the game itself is a tool that can be
used in many different ways. So that it’s not just
it allows kids to pick between four different ways
to understand those definitions. So they can act
it out. They can talk about how it physically feels
in their body. They can draw it if they want to
draw or they can talk about a time that they’ve
experienced that emotion.
because once they learn a new word, they can
put two and two together. “Oh, that’s how I
was feeling when this happened.” So all four of
them are important and can help kids express

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themselves in a way that they may not have So using those words, I created kid friendly
thought they could before. So they could be acting definitions for them. So you learn about the
or they could draw something that they’re like, definition. Then you pick one of those four
“Oh, I didn’t realize I could draw that very well.”  activities, either acting it out, of how it physically
feels, the time that you felt it, or draw it. So draw
I let my daughter— I drew some faces, just circles a picture of what it could look like. Then after
and I was like, “Okay, draw what this might look you do that, then you do one of the behavior
like to you,” and the things that she came up with regulating or body regulating strategies so that
were so great. They were so cool and I was like, you can learn deep breathing techniques, that’s
“She really gets this, I didn’t really think that she something that I do a lot all day long. Just taking a
would,” but she really got it. So I’m really excited deep breath in, letting it out. So, that’s essentially
to see where this goes and what other people how you play the game. 
come up with in playing it but it’s definitely a tool
for them to get creative.  Adigo: Fantastic. So, I’m wondering if it would
work for us to roleplay and maybe kind of
And like I said, for adults to really dig deeper use some of the techniques that you’ve been
and to play in this game. So it also comes with mentioning. So I’m a stroppy toddler at the dinner
different behavior regulation techniques and table. Okay, and I’ve got a bowl that’s got some
strategies that, again, you don’t realize that would broccoli in, and I’m not eating the broccoli. So as
really benefit you until you try them, and a lot parent, you asked me to eat the broccoli and I say
of people don’t realize it. So there’s some yoga, no. What happens then? 
affirmations, mindfulness. Again, playing fake
instruments, different things like that. Using your Chelsea: “Well, does that look disgusting to
body in physical ways. So just a lot of different you?” That’s one of the emotions. Or, “Are you
options so that they can find what works for them.  frustrated because we keep trying to give you this
and you don’t like it?” So helping them understand
Adigo: Okay, so what type of game is this? Is it a maybe what they’re feeling or having them have a
board game? Is it a card game?  dialogue with you about how they’re feeling.

Chelsea: Oh, it’s a card game. Adigo: Let’s roleplay. “Yeah, that’s disgusting. I

Adigo: And just describe how you play the game. 
Chelsea: I have a little mockup of the box right
here. People can get this little tiny spinning wheel,
if they want; there are two versions of it but the
family friendly version is a little smaller. But you
could get one of these wheels, you could spin it,
land on one of the seven core emotions, pull a
card from that set, and learn about a word that
you may not have known about before. So there
are 130 emotions on the emotion wheel and that’s
what I used to create the game itself. 
don’t want to eat it.”
Chelsea: “Yeah, you don’t want to eat your
broccoli. Is there something else that you don’t
want to eat?” “No, sorry.” “I understand that you
don’t want to eat your broccoli, but we have to eat
some vegetables or some fruit so that you can get
healthy nutrients in your body. You understand
what that means?”
Adigo: “I’m not eating my broccoli, mom. I don’t
wanna eat my broccoli.”
Chelsea: “I understand you don’t want to eat your

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broccoli, because it might be disgusting. Maybe
we can add some seasoning to it or we can find
another fruit or vegetable that you would like. Do
you want to try that?”
Adigo: “Could too, but it’s disgusting. Ugh, I don’t
think we can make it nice.”
Chelsea: “That’s fine. So let’s find something else
that you’d want to eat. Okay? Another fruit or
vegetable, sound good?”
Adigo: “Sounds good.” And I’m wondering,
Chelsea, about the feelings elements in terms of
like a parent wanting to use the game. Would it
be after the event or would you want to kind of
introduce it during in terms of trying to—? I guess
with toddlers, you’d have to deal with the situation
at hand, right? So at what point would you want to
kind of explore the feeling element with the child?
Chelsea: As early as possible.
[20:00]
People are like, “Oh, kids are too young to
understand this stuff.” They understand what
you teach them, period. There are kids that
understand physics, what is it, science? A lot of
very complex things because they were taught it.
So I think teaching emotions as early as possible,
is very healthy.  different behaviors that we’re not very happy with
So my recommendation is to play the game when
everybody’s happy and calm, play it when you’re
fine. So that they it becomes second nature to
them to go to the more healthy coping strategies
instead of in the moment, “We have to figure
this out right now,” they’ll already have it in their
head.” So one thing that my daughter does, well,
when I first created the game, she would go and
get me one of the cards, like, “Oh, I just need a
calm body card. Give me a comfort card.”
Reverse Disease with Personalized Nutrition
16
Or she’d say, “Mommy, I think we need to take
some deep breaths,” but she always lets me know
how she’s feeling. So, “I’m really frustrated right
now.” She told me the other day, she was hangry
and that’s why she was acting out. And I’m like,
“Well, thank you for letting me know that.” But if
you teach them when they’re not in the moment,
they’ll use it when they are in the moment. 
Adigo: Okay, that sounds good. So, let’s say
that dinner was two hours ago, now I’m playing,
I’m happy. So how might you approach what
happened now that I’m in a happy state, using the
process, the framework, the game? 
Chelsea: Well, honestly, I think that you should
deal with it in the moment and not bring it back
up. 
Adigo: Oh, okay. 
Chelsea: So dealing with it in the moment helps
them to deal with it in the moment. So everything
that I practice and preach is about teaching
them how to handle something, if they were by
themselves. So I wouldn’t want them dwelling on,
“Oh, man, I really hated that broccoli,” all day or
all night. You know what I mean? So if we come
to a resolution in the moment, then we can move
forward from that. And that goes with a lot of
different things, it goes with hitting, it goes with
that they are acting out. So deal with it, then work
through with them, and then move forward the
rest of the day. 
Adigo: Okay, so in the heat of the moment, it
might not be appropriate to use the game then
and there. Find whatever solution you can and
move on. Then when it’s calm, everybody’s happy,
you’re not necessarily going back to the situation,
but you’re just playing the game in the moment
and that will practice or that will train, getting in
touch with your feelings. So that the next time
 17
that happens, there might be a different response
that occurs.  if you could maybe share a story, even with your
Chelsea: Exactly. So let’s say, two hours after
the incident or after eating after dinner, pull the
game out, go through some of the cards. It’s not a
‘finished the whole deck’ kind of game. You could
set a timer or just, “We’ll do five emotions right
now.” And if one of them comes up, like, I don’t
know, repulsive, let’s say repulsive is in there, “Oh,
you were feeling repulsive when you were eating
the broccoli. You didn’t want it.”
So just helping them identify how they may have
been feeling so that they can pull that out next
time. But yes, you’re absolutely right, so doing
that, and then giving them a coping strategy
instead of throwing their plate on the floor. “Oh,
we’re going to talk about it,” or, “Let’s take some
deep breaths while we’re feeling this high energy
motion, because no emotions are good or bad.
They’re just are.”
Some have higher energy, some have lower
energy. “So take a deep breath in this high energy
emotion, put your hands together if you’re really
mad. Push them against the wall.” That kind of
stuff, depending on their temperament. So yeah,
teaching them how to resolve those things when
they’re in that calmer space is very good.  But the earlier, the better. I think emotions are
Adigo: Right, got that. And that brings to mind the
whole sort of meditation practice, yoga practice,
it’s a practice. It’s not a onetime solution and you
don’t just pull it out, well, you can’t even really pull
it out when there’s a crisis. It’s all the training and
steady work that you do on a day to day basis and
on a regular basis that means that it’s effective to
use when it’s really needed. So, that’s really worth
emphasizing.  babies and even free speech, but the level of
So it’s almost something you should be doing on
a daily basis with your kids. Fantastic. And you
also say the earlier, the better in terms of teaching
Reverse Disease with Personalized Nutrition
kids to get in touch with their emotions, I wonder
kids or with your professional interactions of early
stage working and what that might look like, like
how early can you start? 
Chelsea: In the womb, doing different things
for yourself, that’s really what matters is the
modeling. So if you want to see a behavior in your
child, you have to do it yourself. So I have a one
year old, she’s getting into hitting a little bit when
she doesn’t get her way. And one time, this is so
funny, my husband, I heard overheard him saying,
“Oh, you must be feeling jealous right now.” I’m
like, “Who’s he talking to?” and he was talking to
her. And I was like, “Oh my God, that’s so great.” 
So we use the emotion words with her as well.
And teaching gentle touch, and different things
that a one year old might not really understand in
the moment, but she’s going to grow up to learn
it, because that’s what we did with our oldest. We
started when she was around one, and taught
her. We’ve started singing Daniel Tiger songs and
so she’ll sing those songs now, she sings them all
the time. If I’m mad, she’ll sing the mad song. We
just stomp three times or whatever it’s telling us
to do. 
one of those things that people know they’re
there, but they think, “Well, if you don’t know
how to manage them, then that’s it,” but it is
definitely learned. And you’re never too old, and
you’re never too young to understand how you’re
physically feeling, how you’re mentally feeling, and
what to do about it. 
Adigo: That is remarkable. I just think about
awareness they have is just incredible. 
Chelsea: Yeah, and you can teach them sign
language. I just learned some of the signs for
 18

those seven core emotions so that I could go process with their kids that it also educates and
through them with her.  helps them get in touch with their own feelings.

Adigo: Fabulous. Chelsea: I think the more you use it with your

kids, the more you’ll use it with other adults,
Chelsea: Yeah because it’s so important to get to and they’ll start to see, “Oh, maybe I should start
them however you can.  acting a little like that, too. Or maybe I should
look more into my emotions as well.” I also have
Adigo: Yeah, that’s great. So another thing I with the game— and I’m trying to think of other
wanted to ask, I think you emphasized, you places to put this, I have a bunch of validating
say that there’s a focus on community with the statements. So that instead of getting offended
approach, that it’s not just about the kids, but it’s when a child speaks up for themselves and
about the parents, it’s about teachers, it’s about advocates for themselves, also known as talking
friends. So can you say a word or two about why back, you’re supportive and understanding.
that community approach is so beneficial in terms
of supporting emotional wellbeing?  You might not agree completely with what they’re
saying but you’re letting them know, “Whatever
Chelsea: So for children, they interact with a lot you’re feeling is what you’re feeling and that’s fine.
of different adults on a daily basis. And if they are It’s totally fine to feel that way. Doesn’t mean you
feeling stressed at any point of their day, whoever can behave however you want. You can’t just act
they’re interacting with needs to understand how up all day long because you’re feeling upset, but
to help them through that. So they might be at you’re okay to feel upset. I understand. I still love
home, they might stay with the grandparent, they you. I felt that way before myself,” and maybe
will be at school with the teacher, and they might going into a story if they allow that. “Can we just
have multiple teachers at school, a coach after hug each other for a little bit?” or, “I’ll just sit here
school, staying over at a friend’s house.  until you’re done going between your outbursts or
your tantrum.”
All of these adults in their lives should have some
awareness of, “This is how this child normally is Just validating their feelings and that helps us to
and they’re acting out now. So let me see if I can really see, “Oh, is this a real big trigger for me?” A
help them through that.” Instead of, “You’re being trigger for me is sleep. If somebody is supposed
bad in this moment, you need to stop. Otherwise, to be sleeping and they’re not, that’s a big trigger
I’m going to make you.” It just doesn’t help. It for me. So I have to do a lot of internal work to
doesn’t work that way. It might work temporarily say, “Hey, you don’t have to get upset with them
in the short term and some people prefer to or at them. You can be mad about the situation,
operate that way but it’s not helpful at all in the but don’t put your anger and your feelings on
long run for children, at all.  them. Don’t make that their problem.” 

Adigo: Right, makes sense. So what comes to [30:00]

mind now is that a lot of adults are out of touch
with their feelings, right? So how on earth, if that’s
the situation, can you be in a position to help your
child understand their feelings? So I’m imagining
that the process is you teach parents to use the
So you learn that as you go. It’s a continuum. It’s
a marathon. It’s not a sprint, it’s not a destination,
like, it’s something you will have to work on
forever but it becomes second nature. It becomes

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so natural that you’re like, “Oh, when did I even
start thinking like this?” But it takes a lot of
practice, and it takes a lot of work and a lot of
grace, lots and lots of grace for yourself and for
your kids.  there is a trigger that’s kind of biochemical that’s
Adigo: Wow. So, is there anything we haven’t
talked about in relation to food that you’d like to
bring forward? I know, given your history with
having an eating disorder. So anything you’d like
to share with the listeners.
Chelsea: I think there are two different
relationships with food. So disordered eating,
like we talked about. And then foods causing
behavior problems is another thing, giving kids
a lot of sugary foods, sugary drinks, foods with
a lot of dye in them. I know they’re legal in the
US, so they’re everywhere but I know that they’re
banned in the UK, which is great. But they’re in a
lot of our foods. And if we’re not careful with what
we’re giving our kids, it can definitely impact their
behavior.  completely different things.”
So a child might have ADHD, but it could be made
a lot worse by giving them sugar, or giving them
dairy or gluten. So I think it’s really important to
talk to a doctor if you’re noticing any changes in
your child’s behavior. You could track what they’re
eating. Just write it in a notebook, “Lunch, they ate
this. Snack, they ate this,” and seeing how they’re
responding to those foods.
Because oftentimes, they won’t know that they’re
lactose intolerant or gluten intolerant, or that the
dye is messing with them. Like, they just won’t
know these things. They’ll just know that they
don’t feel good. And if they don’t know how to
express that they don’t feel good, they’re going
to act out. So it’s really important to understand
those different things, relationships with food.  foods if they’re in the house, because they aren’t
Adigo: Wow, that’s so important. I’m so glad that
you brought that up. A couple of things there.
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19
Lactose intolerance is more common in the
African American community, so that’s worth
noting. And of course, this approach of connecting
with your feelings doesn’t happen in isolation. If
causing irritation or behavioral issues, then that
needs to be addressed. So you’re absolutely right,
you’ve got to look at the diet. You can’t sort of
be feeding a diet of junk food and expect great
behavior, because the food is actually changing
the brain chemistry. So I’m really, really glad that
that you highlighted that point. Thank you. 
Chelsea: Just quickly another thing, and I learned
this taking my daughter to the pediatrician.
He asked one time, “How are you feeding her?
Like, does she eat vegetables?” I’m like, “Yeah, of
course.” “How is she eating vegetables?” I was like,
“Oh, there’s a difference between the what and
the how,” and I stewed on that for like a month.
I was like, “Whoa, that just blew my mind. What
they’re eating and how they’re eating it are two
 
And it’s important to not force food on them just
because you want them to eat it, because that
will cause food issues later in life. Whether they’re
restricted on their diet to the point that if they
get it outside of your home or your presence,
they’re going to go crazy and just over eat. Which
is something that happened to me, I used to be
close to 300 pounds. 
So my relationship with food, it’s been all over the
place but it’s getting a little bit better. I noticed
when I’m stressed that I will eat sweets. So I just
don’t bring certain things in the house. But it’s
very important to not— I’m sorry, I feel like I’m
going on another place here for a second. It’s
important to not blame kids for eating certain
the ones that bought it. I know growing up, we
were told, “Don’t eat that. Don’t need that. Don’t
eat that.” Don’t buy it. 

Adigo: That is such an important point. You see
this policing of food that happens in the house
but that’s a really simple solution, just don’t have
it in the house.
Chelsea: Or don’t have it visible, or give them
a little bit at a time so that they understand
moderation. But just yelling at them to not eat it,
not eat it, not eat it or locking the refrigerator or
just other things that I’ve seen and heard in other
spaces is just not going to lead to healthy food
relationships growing up. 
Adigo: And that circles back to the roleplay, where
you demonstrated so nicely. There was no locking
of horns. There was no being at loggerheads. You
shifted and so there was no forcing of the food on
me. So that’s a nice illustration of what you were
just saying.  parents’ side. So when a child is like, “Well, I want
Chelsea: Thank you. My daughter is a selective
eater. So I deal with it every day for every meal.
And it’s triggering for me because I’m like, “Just
eat your food,” but I don’t want to ruin her
relationship with food. So a lot of different fruit
options and healthy things. So I don’t have to say
no all day.  picky or selective, but they’re not. They just don’t
Adigo: This is me going off on a tangent now but
that whole selective eating thing, I’m thinking
that it’s almost a product of, I don’t know to say
modern times or something that might contribute
to that. And what I’m thinking about is I went to a
festival, and it was a raw food festival. And there
were kids walking around jumping on carrots.
I thought I would never see that like in normal
day to day walking around, because there’d be a
struggle to, “Eat your carrots. Eat your broccoli.”  error. A lot of trial and error and letting them have
So what is it do you think that is causing it? We
talked about control, and maybe it’s to do with
that, and perhaps it’s the fact that— I don’t know,
I’d welcome your thoughts on why we’re seeing
this selective eating as a phenomenon. I don’t
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20
necessarily think it exists across the board. 
Chelsea: There are so many different things going
through my head about it. It could be control from
the child’s perspective, because my daughter will
chomp on a carrot, like a long, super long carrot
from the store but she won’t eat cooked carrots.
So it could be a texture thing that’s undiagnosed.
It can also be that we’re allowing kids to have
more of a say, instead of, “You’re gonna sit here
and eat this or you’re gonna go hungry.”
Because I was a selective eater growing up, but
I had to eat my food because I wasn’t getting
anything else. So now, whatever my daughter
asks for is kind of what she’s going to get because
I don’t want that power struggle, and I don’t want
those issues. So it could be a control thing on the
to not eat this right now because she’s forcing me
to eat it,” I don’t know.
I think texture has a lot to do with it and if we’re
not paying attention to the textures that they
don’t like, we’re constantly giving them foods that
they don’t want. So then it looks like they’re super
like that right now. I read that it takes, oh God, I
think was like seven times to introduce something
to them before they might try it and that’s a lot.
That’s a lot of food that could be wasted but that’s
science. 
So it’s important to give them things, you can
sneak things in here and there with foods that
they already like. But as their taste grows or
changes as they grow older, it’s just trial and
a say. I just let my daughter start cooking eggs
with me this morning and yesterday, because I’m
like, I want her to feel in control of some of what
she’s eating and like, have more control over
these things. And she ate them, so that was really
great and empowering to let her do that. 
 21

So, there are so many different reasons that
children can grow up to be selective eaters. But
it’s up to us as adults to not let that trigger us to
the point of so much frustration that we’re literally
shoving food down their throats or torturing
them to eat something that they really don’t want.
When they could have something else that they
really would want that could be just as healthy.
So, it’s hard. It’s hard, but it’s definitely worth it in
the long run.  somocomlab, that’s it.
And then on the other side, there’s the actual
food that’s being eaten and ensuring that it’s
high quality food, good whole nutritious food,
minimum additives, preservatives, and minimally
processed as well. So if anyone wants to find out
more about you, how do they go about it? 
Chelsea: They can go to my website at www.
somocomlab.com or follow me on social media @

Adigo: That’s so awesome. We’ve covered so Adigo: Fantastic. Chelsea, thank you so much for
much ground. So just to wrap up, I think the two joining us. I think it’s been a really rich discussion.
kind of umbrellas or two pegs that I have is the I appreciate your time. 
emotional care. And as a parent, that’s emotional
care of yourself in terms of dealing when you’re Chelsea: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
triggered, as well as emotional care for your child,
including not forcing as well.

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 22

How Amino Acids Impact

Disease
Csilla Veress, ND, Dipl. OM

Adigo: Dr. Csilla Veress, thank you so much for the why in your life. That is so beautiful. 
joining us for the summit, it really is a pleasure to
have you.  Dr. Veress: And it’s so true, when you can get to
those different pillars, you really are having that
Dr. Veress: Thank you for having me. It’s a optimal health. That we talk about; that optimal
pleasure to be here.  wellness. 

Adigo: One of the main aims of the summit is to
increase the understanding about how the body
works, particularly in relation to food, in order for
people to make better choices for their health. So
we’re going to focus on amino acids during our
conversation. But before we do that, I was reading
your website and I just loved your Six Pillars for
Health, how you phrased it. So I’m actually going
to read them out because I think everyone could
benefit from hearing this.
So, Number 1; a whole food plant based lifestyle
centered around organic, non-GMO, unprocessed
foods. Number 2; sleep, making sleep a priority.
At least seven to nine hours of uninterrupted
sleep that is in accordance with our circadian
rhythm. Number 3; stress management, living
within a self-care and self-love mindset, and
reframing stressful as an opportunistic approach.
Number 4; movement, daily activity that brings
you joy. Number 5; community and tribe like
living, surrounding yourself with a strong social
support, building community. And Number 6;
spirit driven life, also known as life by your design,
finding that flow in your life, finding the purpose,
Adigo: And the other thing that struck me about
it is that food is more than just about diet; food
relates to every single one of those. So it’s all
interconnected. There’s this amazing intricate
web of life that we can tap into on many different
levels. 
Dr. Veress: The interesting thing is, we see that at
TrueNorth a lot in the sense that we sometimes
have people that are maybe doing a really great
diet, whole food plant based, SOS free, salt, sugar,
and oil free, but one of the other ones is not in
place. So getting the other things in balance so
that you have the whole aura, and vice versa.
They could have the most amazing life but if their
food is off, then they... so it really kind of all, like
you said...
Adigo: Yeah, it’s a symphony. It’s like an orchestra.
Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so let’s get into the amino
acids. Studying amino acids, for me really brought
to life key pathways in the body. So it really took
my understanding of biomechanical pathways
that were really important, to another level. So I
was delighted to learn, so the role that taurine has
in the production of bile acids. 

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 23
Which is really important because the liver
produces bile, and it puts harmful chemicals in
the bile and then that enters the bowel, and it’s
excreted in the feces. So just like, “Oh, wow, okay.”
That made me light up when I understood that.
So I was wondering whether you perhaps have a
favorite amino acid from your studies and work
with amino acids. 
Dr. Veress: I do. And most of the amino acids,
I’ll be honest with you, that I work with have
to do with one of two things. One is, obviously
with thyroid, most people know that kind of
component, but also with neurotransmitter
production. So I do a lot of Parkinson’s disease,
actually, at the moment. So that is where I’ve
speared and spiraled with my amino acid studies
and also, kind of application as well.
Adigo: Wow, that’s so exciting. I’d love to hear a
bit more about that as we go on, for sure. So let’s
kind of take a step way back for the audience and
if you could describe what an amino acid is?  this is pretty basic biochemistry that you can kind
Dr. Veress: Sure. So in the body, we have
macromolecules, which a lot of people can
identify with. So you have probably heard of
carbohydrates. People have probably heard of
proteins, people have probably heard of fats. So
that’s something that’s very talked about in our
societies. What comes before that though, is the
micromolecules or the building blocks to these
different types of macromolecules. So an amino
acid is actually the building block for a protein
molecule.  of deficiency and insufficiency. So deficiency
It can be, if we think about where proteins are in
the body, they can be anywhere and you talked
about one aspect of the detox but it can actually
be the musculature. It could be cardiovascular,
right? And like I said, even brain function, and all
of our beautiful neuro chemicals, of how we think,
how we do, how we move, have the strong basis
of protein molecules in that. And so you need the
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building blocks for that. 
Adigo: Wow. So amino acids are literally the
building blocks for life.
Dr. Veress: For life. You’re right, you’re absolutely
right. For life. 
Adigo: We can measure the levels of the various
amino acids in the body, from blood and from
urine, right?
Dr. Veress: Yes, absolutely. 
Adigo: And that can be a guide in order to identify
where there might be some shortcomings. So we
can make most amino acids within the body but
not all amino acids, is that right? 
Dr. Veress: Yes, there are definitely non-essential,
we call it non-essential amino acids and then we
have a few that are essential amino acids. And
of search and find these. But the idea behind it is
non-amino acids... as the word says, non-essential
is things that our body is able to adequately
produce. And then essential ones are things that
we need to get from our outside environment. 
Adigo: And predominantly through food, right?
Dr. Veress: Predominantly through food, yeah.
Adigo: So that leads on to the idea, the notion
is sort of having less than normal when you
compare yourself to others in the population
and insufficiency is having less than you need for
your individual biochemistry. So there are many
reasons for developing insufficiency, deficiency.
We talked about diet as being one. Can you
perhaps describe other reasons why someone
might develop an insufficiency within their body? 
 24
Dr. Veress: So there’s a couple of different things.
One is what we do see, and this is an example but
it’s a really good example that I think can highlight
how this can happen, going towards maybe a
pathology like Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s
disease is a misfolding of a protein. So a protein is
within our gut, and it’s called alpha-synuclein. So
that misfolding happens in our gut and that can
actually then travel along the vagus nerve, and
it can actually cause dopamine, which is another
neurochemical neurotransmitter, and it can cause
changes in order to have that deficiency happen
over time.  ways.
So then you have to ask the question, well, what
would cause that protein to become deficient in
the brain that started potentially also in the gut?
So what we tend to see is definitely microbiome
implications there. So not only can we have it
from say, we are maybe taking in enough amino
acids but we start to have any sort of, especially
with Parkinson’s, H. Pylori is very much indicated,
and there are different types of other more
potential pathogens that could be involved
in it, and that could cause a disruption in our
microbiome.  actually disrupted to a point where it might not
There could be a couple of different things. One
is we could have just a rare form that’s causing
this to happen, like I just mentioned with H. Pylori.
Actually, also studies are now looking into fact
of something called dysbiosis. Meaning that the
microbiome that is literally just for maybe your
viewers that don’t know what the microbiome is,
is that it’s our beautiful ecology that we live within.
Its viruses, fungi, bacteria that are within every
single surface that lines the outside environment.
So, skin, eyes, nasal cavity, all the way down into
our rectum.  digestive enzymes or our bile is not as efficient
Adigo: Like a beautiful garden of bacteria.
Dr. Veress: It is, yes.
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Adigo: Fungi and yes, viruses.
Dr. Veress: Yeah. And it works with us and it’s not
just this like, inert kind of substance. It actually is
functioning as our neighbor and it works within
us to help us towards either truthfully, health or
disease.
Adigo: Or not, yeah. In fact, there are... branched
chain amino acids are made by the bacteria in our
guts, and we absorb them and we use them, and
they’re supporting our health in many different
 
[10:00]
Dr. Veress: It’s beautiful. It’s like, this is another
symphony that we have, right?
Adigo: Yeah, exactly. 
Dr. Veress: But to answer your question. So
just to set the stage with that, is that within
dysbiosis, what that means is that these different
microbia or these different... this microbiome is
be functioning as optimally as we need it to. We
could be taking in amino acids. So maybe our
actual diet is not deficient in it but it’s the fact
that we’re not, like you said, breaking it down
appropriately. Or we don’t have the proper
bacterium or different types of microbes for...
Adigo: To process it.
Dr. Veress: Exactly, to process it. So we can’t
process it, because as I mentioned, there are
actually, believe it or not, some things... our
to break down. So these different microbes
are actually necessary [inaudible]. So there is a
deficiency where it can happen or insufficiency
that can happen. The other place too that we see
this, and again, the reference is just even with

Parkinson’s, is that if we have an environmental
toxin.
So we have two things. One is, if we have a higher
level of an environmental toxin that we are
exposed to, our body has to actually work harder.
And if you think about it, and you said it perfectly,
amino acids are our life-force. They’re literally
our building blocks. So you can imagine with
anything, if you have to work harder, you have to
pull from your [inaudible] to make the necessary
components that it takes us to detox what’s going
on in our environment. So that’s one thing.  aspect of it.
The other thing is too, we could be exposed to a
natural amount... I don’t even want to say natural,
I’m sorry. I should say, we could be exposed to a
maybe more uniform or normal environmental
pollutants but if our body, through within liver...
if our detox pathways and they’re called genetic
SNPs, meaning that [inaudible] Yes, exactly. If we,
maybe through our genes, aren’t able to process
some of these things as appropriately, we are not
producing... we either, a; we’re not utilizing amino
acids appropriately. Or number two is that our
body needs support in order to then utilize it. So
again, there’s different factors that can cause that
insufficiency or deficiency.
Adigo: Yeah, that is quite a range. And are there
some situations where the body is excreting
excess amounts of specific amino acid?  so when we say we need to limit the protein, I
Dr. Veress: Oh, absolutely. For sure, there is
definitely different conditions that do that. And
also, even, I mean, just with many people in
a more, I will say, standard American diet or
standard Western diet, maybe is a better way
to say that; what we run into a lot, which many
people don’t know about is actually, something
called even kidney failure. And many people don’t
know that even in the more beginning stages,
into the mid stages of kidney failure, where a lot
of people are walking around with it and not like,
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25
actually knowing stage [inaudible].
Adigo: Well, in clinics, I see the [inaudible]
filtration rate is low in seemingly healthy people.
So they’re at the beginning of developing trouble
with their kidneys. 
Dr. Veress: Exactly. And what happens there is
you start actually spilling more proteins in your
urine. So your body is not able to retain as much
as it needs to because your proteins are vital, as
you mentioned, they’re vital. So that’s another
Adigo: Yeah, absolutely. I wanted to ask you
about that as well because when you do develop
problems with your kidney, the advice is to
decrease the amount of protein that you take in.
Now, when proteins are broken down, they’re
broken down into urea and ammonia. And I was
wondering, is the reason you have to decrease
the amount you take in because the body can’t
get rid of the urea and ammonia, and so you’d
get a buildup in your system? Or is there another
sort of explanation for the warning that you limit
your protein intake if you have trouble with your
kidneys?
Dr. Veress: Yeah, that is one aspect, and you do
see that in clinical, over longer periods of time.
The other thing though, too, is that the protein...
want to kind of pull back a little bit because what
we tend to see, especially a TrueNorth, is the fact
that you... protein is in anything and everything
that we’re eating. I can pick up a beautiful salad
and eat it and [inaudible] animal protein. It has no
dairy, but it’s...
Adigo: But it has protein.
Dr. Veress: It has protein. And so we’ve been,
unfortunately in society, kind of spearheaded to
understand that protein is just animal and dairy.
 26

So the recommendation that is out there with
kidney failure, specifically, let’s just use that, is to
limit or to eliminate animal protein and dairy. And
one of the reasons... so again, you are correct with
the urea and ammonia aspect of it.  that protein from different sources is handled, or
But also, there’s a component where those high
levels of that type of protein source is actually...
over time, because it’s so inflammatory in the
system, it’s driving omega six pathways, which
are more pro-inflammatory in nature. They’re
driving inflammation, especially we’re talking
about the microbiome. We now see studies where
that is actually activating other components that
are causing inflammation in our gut, which then,
absolutely, I mean, your kidneys are not going
to be excluded from that, unfortunately, and that
is going to cause damage as well.
improvements in the GFR. Definitely. So, that is
fascinating that what we call... not all protein is
created equal, you could say. So as you say, we
have an idea of what protein is and having a sense
the body responds in different ways, I think that’s
important. 
And the other thing that was important, from
what you were saying earlier about the different
causes of insufficiency; that highlights how we are
each different. And so having the same diagnosis
doesn’t mean you’ve got the same pattern of
dysfunction within your body. So really tuning
into what’s happening with you is really, really
important.
Dr. Veress: For sure, absolutely. 

Adigo: That’s so interesting. So it’s not necessarily Adigo: And so, in the sense of deficiency and
the kidneys’ ability to handle the amino acids, insufficiency, I think it’s important to say that
but it’s the fact that these protein sources cause overall protein deficiency is very rare in society.
system wide inflammation, and that has a
detrimental effect on the kidneys.  Dr. Veress: Very rare.

Dr. Veress: Yes. And just, the proteins are quite,
quite hard on the kidneys, because we have
seen cases where you don’t see necessarily, like
increase in ammonia or urea but you do see
kidney failure. And you do see... the minute you
take a person off of animal protein and dairy,
which is what we do, we put them on a whole
food, plant centered, plant based diet.  eat a varied diet, because different plants have
And you do see creatinine start to come down,
you do see GFR start to go up, you do see
improvement. You do see actually, when we look
at micro albumin levels, they start to come down.
So, you see this actually start to tend towards
improvement without that end stage or later
stage--
Adigo: And I see the same in my practice, as
well. So, following a similar strategy, you see
Adigo: Very rare. So this idea that we have to be
pumping protein into us is just not borne out
by… there is no widespread protein deficiency
in Western society. But as we’ve been saying,
you can have deficiencies and insufficiencies of
specific amino acids. So, one strategy to ensure
that the source of insufficiency isn’t dietary is to
different profiles of amino acids. 
So by making sure you’re eating lots of different
plants, then you’re going to overlap and get all the
amino acids you want. So say you eat greens, you
don’t want to be having kale on Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. One day have
spinach, the next day have Swiss chard, and the
next day have arugula. Mix it up because that way
you’ll cover the bases and get the proteins that
you need. 

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Dr. Veress: And not only that, but also, one, I
mean, it’s exciting because the more and more we
learn about the microbiome, and I know I keep
coming back to this, but—
Adigo: It’s central. It is central.
Dr. Veress: What we know is that one of the ways
that you create the most amount of health in the
microbiome, or you [inaudible] back to health...
Adigo: Diversity.
Dr. Veress: Exactly, biodiversity in the foods that
you’re eating. So you’re absolutely spot on in the
sense that not only with that biodiversity do you
get different minerals, nutrients, and amino acids
but you also—
[20:00]
Adigo: Yes, you’re encouraged by diversity of your
microbiome, and the reason is that different bugs
feed on different things.
Dr. Veress: Absolutely. And even further than
that, I mean, this is like also going to a next step,
and this is how you... looking at it. Is that amino
acids don’t just come together and form proteins,
you need cofactors. So, many people might have
heard that like, B3, B1, B6, magnesium, zinc, iron,
these are just a few cofactors that are vital in
order to have your amino acids go into and be
produced to a protein molecule.
So, again, going into, like, what you just
mentioned, is that if you’re just eating kale, that’s
beautiful but it’s [inaudible]. Not only is it not
giving you the amino acids, it’s not giving you as
much of the, let’s say, zinc, or maybe... well, it has
a lot of magnesium, but maybe another vitamin
that you need in order to build that protein
structure. So biodiversity is king.  Adigo: Yeah, you can imagine bowl of salad with
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27
Adigo: Yeah, absolutely. And just in that,
vegetables are the most nutrient dense foods on
the planet in terms of leafy greens, particularly. So
what that means is per calorie, if you measure the
different types of micronutrients, phytochemicals,
minerals in them, leafy green vegetables come out
on top. So if you want to get all of those different
cofactors into you, eat your greens. 
Dr. Veress: I agree, I concur. 
Adigo: That said, there are some foods that are
called complete foods in terms of that they have
all the essential amino acids that we’re not able
to produce ourselves. So it’s worth just kind of
mentioning them in the context of this discussion.
So I know that I think, quinoa is one. 
Dr. Veress: Quinoa is definitely a beautiful one.
Quinoa is probably the one that I usually go to
the most, I’ll be honest with you. So that’s kind of
like my... that is my... what’s the word I’m looking
for? It’s the one that is not only the... not only is
it a complete but it’s also something that I would
say is the least inflammatory for patients. I see
a lot of people that might have some sort of like
inflammatory bowel disease or things—
Adigo: So easy for the body to handle.
Dr. Veress: Easy for the body to handle. So that’s
probably my favorite one. 
Adigo: Wonderful. And then others are buckwheat
and hemp seed, blue green algae, soya beans.
Dr. Veress: Yeah, absolutely. That’s another
good one as well, although it’s a little bit more
difficult to get when you’re eating more... or we
recommend more of like a whole food plant
based but definitely.
quinoa in but how am I going to make my salad
 28

with blue green algae? It’s not quite the same, of aging. But we know that you’ve mentioned
right? Parkinson’s, that that will lead to chronic disease.
So I think it’s worth emphasizing that, depending
Dr. Veress: And buckwheat is amazing, as well. It’s on what your condition is, there is inevitably going
just a little bit... I will say, for some individuals, it’s to be some sort of amino acid component just
a little bit difficult to digest when you haven’t been because of how ubiquitous, they’re everywhere,
used to it.  proteins are everywhere. 

Adigo: Yeah, that is true. And so that to me, is a baseline assessment for

people really, just to see what’s going on with
Dr. Veress: So, I always say, bring it in a little bit your amino acids. What’s your profile doing? Do
at a time, just because that transition can be a you use it as a baseline or do you just target... like
pretty... it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing but it can you say, you use it a lot with Parkinson’s patients?
be a little bit more troubling or difficult. Do you just do it for select patients or do you test
quite widely for amino acids? 
Adigo: Yeah, and I find hemp seeds are quite rich
as well.  Dr. Veress: Well, I actually don’t test quite widely
just because of the fact that the understanding...
Dr. Veress: Yes, hemp seeds, they’re very rich. or let me put it this way. It’s true that the
Yeah, definitely.  individual model... that there’s a personalized
model in the sense that every person is very, very
Adigo: That’s awesome. So we talked about different. But then also, as you probably know,
the excretion of amino acids from the body. within TrueNorth one of the things that we do is
Another thing that I wanted to talk about is the also water fasting.
fact that you mentioned earlier in the context of
Parkinson’s, amino acids being the building blocks  And one of the things you realize within water
of life, they go on to form structural proteins, fasting is that the body has such an amazing and
neurotransmitters, hormones, enzymes. So I think beautiful way to heal itself if it’s given the right
the basis of amino acid medicine is understanding environment and given the right things that it
how the individual amino acids... where they show can. The reason I’m saying that is because usually,
up, right? What pathways they’re involved in.  usually when you give people and you actually
help them into a whole food plant based diet that
So, you can modify the biochemistry by dialing is actually very biodiverse. 
up or dialing down certain pathways as a
mode of intervening. Now, Bruce Ames, he put And especially for getting out things that tend to
forward a theory that aging is due to long term deplete our amino acids and things of that nature,
micronutrient deficiency. And therefore, because like the high levels of salt, high levels of sugar,
of this long term deficiency, the body starts to high levels of oil, then most times, you do get to
degrade as a way of kind of compensating or see improvement across the board.  With that
it just doesn’t have what it needs over the long being said, for those individuals, they’re saying to
term. And I was just wondering about long term me, “I’m whole food plant based, no sugar, no oil.
insufficiency, deficiency of particular amino acids.  I’m still having issues of atrophy of my muscles,”
or, “Now, I’m having neurological issues,” or they
One perhaps that fits into a parallel theory have Parkinson’s or they have—

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Adigo: Then you want to dig in deep and see
what’s going on.
Dr. Veress: Then we dig in. Then we do like, not
only like, say, a urine profile. I mean, here in the
States, we have various types of testing. Genova
has NutrEval, there’s a lot of testing, and not
only test for it, and then not even do just very
streamline protein or urine analysis, but they look
at different amino acid profiling.  gut damage or something like that, maybe there’s
And also, they look at metabolites. So they
see if whether or not there is like [inaudible]
Parkinson’s and things like that. So that’s how I
use the testing. I use testing, if it’s going to drive
my approach differently, or if I’m going to be
supporting a patient differently, that’s how I...
Adigo: I love that, I love that. And I think with
me saying baseline, I don’t mean that everyone
should get tested for that amino acid. But it’s
patients that I’m working with who are often very
complex. But what I love in what you’ve just said
is that... same with the pillars, right? So, there are
things you can put in place that will get you at
least 80% of the way there.  also helps a little bit with sleep. And I don’t know
And so don’t think that you can’t take an
individualized approach, because you’ve not had
your bloods done, and you don’t know what this
and that is. You can implement the pillars that
we’ve talked about. There are go to’s like water
fasting, as long as there isn’t a reason why you
shouldn’t be, that will reset things and decrease
inflammation, and act in many different ways to
support your microbiome, all of which moves
you towards health. So there is the personalized
detailed work, but then there are these broad
principles that anybody can apply. 
Dr. Veress: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And I
think though, too, is that not everything... you can
do testing, which I think is vital, but you can also
use certain aspects of what somebody is dealing
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29
with, in a physical way. In the sense that... I’m
just going to use examples, like you brought up
such a great point in the sense that with our non-
essential versus our essential, sometimes we see
a deficiency within our nutritional.
But every now and then, also some of our non-
essential, meaning, like it’s something that our
body can produce but maybe we’ve had so much
been so much inflammation, we need to give
something like L glutamine. L glutamine is a non-
essential amino acid but we perhaps have to give
it so that we can build those enterocytes.
Adigo: The gut lining, absolutely.
[30:00]
Dr. Veress: Exactly. Or like glycine, glycine is an
amazing non-essential. But every now and then,
even if somebody is eating properly and they’re
eating great, they still have some anxiety or say,
they have some issues with depression. And
glycine is great for a little bit of an anti-anxiety and
if necessarily, it will come up in a test that they’re
deficient in it. It’s just—
Adigo: But having a little bit of extra help, it’s not
going to be harmful, and it can make a difference,
absolutely. And I think the other thing to say
about testing is that there’s a lot of navel gazing, I
think that goes on in functional medicine. So just
because you can test it doesn’t mean you should
test it, right? As you said, if there’s a reason for
the test, and if it’s going to change or guide, direct
your management, then it makes perfect sense. 
But yeah, there’s a lot of tests that are performed,
and nothing really changes as a result of the
test having been done. So, just a general sense
of try and understand why a test is being done,
and what difference it will make based on the
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result. So this has been really illuminating for

me. I feel a little more closely associated with
my understanding of amino acids. So I’m really
appreciative of you spending time and sharing
your knowledge with us. Now, if someone wants
to find out more about your work, how can they
find you? 

Dr. Veress: Well, they can definitely find me on

TrueNorth’s website. So, TrueNorth’s website is
www.healthpromoting.com. I also have my own
personal website, which is just drcsillaveress.com.
So both of those are really good resources into
asking questions or setting up appointments, or
just understanding the work that we do.

Adigo: Fantastic. And if you want a list of those

six pillars, they are on your personal website, so I
definitely recommend everyone get a copy of that.
It’s been a pleasure speaking with you, thank you
very much, Dr. Csilla Veress. 

Dr. Veress: Thank you. And thank you for the

work you do, it’s so, so needed in this world. So I
appreciate you.

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