WIWIK S1E6 Rhiannon Neuharth
Irene Ortiz-Glass: [00:00:00] I just wanna thank our partner, Mira Fertility tracking for working with us to help women to get connected to the opportunity to actually measure hormones at home. It is the technology that I personally use during my menopausal transition. It was life-changing for me. You can find more information on Mira on our website@mennocoaching.com, and you can also find it on our show notes.
We look forward to supporting you and your hormone transition.
Rhiannon Neuharth: Supporting your genes and optimizing them through the lifestyle modifications, through the supplementing and through the dietary approach.
It’s that three-pronged approach. So that comprehensive blueprint is completely changing lives.
and it’s making so much more sense for people when they can see it on paper and go, oh my gosh, that’s why X, Y, Z.
Irene Ortiz-Glass: [00:01:00] Hello and welcome to What I Wish I knew. I’m your host, Irene Ortiz Glass. What I wish I knew is dedicated to providing women with information in a guided path to finding purpose, healing, and joy. It is to give women permission to go inward during the time of perimenopause and menopause, to find their inner compass, while also actively making choices to thrive in life during this transition.
Uh, in this season, we are focusing on issues and challenges during the time of menopause. And I will share and will be with Rhianna today to share what I wish I knew. Um, so today’s podcast is focused on genetic testing, which is an incredibly powerful area. Um, gives us a lot of insight into what’s going on with our bodies during this time.
And our guest today is Rhianna New Hearth. Uh, Rhiannon is a certified functional nutritional counselor, a board certified health coach with the American Association [00:02:00] of Natural Wellness Coaches and a board certified member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. So, uh, Rhiannon, and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have you here.
We’ve already had so many wonderful conversations. Um, just maybe to get started, tell us a little bit about your journey into genetic testing. I, what, what brought you to this place?
Rhiannon Neuharth: Yeah. Thanks so much for having me here, Irene today. Um, So when I was actually 12 years old, I wanted to be a cytogeneticist. And if you’re not familiar with what that is, essentially I would be working in a lab looking at different types of samples and, uh, doing karyotyping. So matching up the different parts of just the, um, the chromosomes to put them together and see if there’s any abnormalities.
And so I strayed away from that in college because some college certifications and things that you have to do for classes just didn’t align, right? Like chemistry was not my thing. So, I ended up switching my undergrad to native studies, but um, I went into education, so I ended up still teaching science and social [00:03:00] studies.
But my journey really from there started with my daughter’s health. Um, I had her and after about three weeks we knew something was going on with her health and from there it just started that rabbit hole of what’s next? What’s happening? Why is this happening? Because nobody had answers for us.
And I know that I’m not the only one that’s experienced doctors that don’t really give you answers or we’re gaslit by doctors, like, oh, it’s fine.
Or, oh, you, you know, you’re the crazy mom. You know? And, um, it got to be at the point where I. You know, at three months old she had bacterial pneumonia, um, and I knew something wasn’t right. She was having recurrent respiratory infections every four to six weeks, about two weeks at a time, constantly on rotation of antibiotics.
And it was about, she was almost two. When I finally did enough research that I’d figured out what I thought was going on with her, and that was, um, an IGA deficiency. So I texted her pediatrician on a Sunday night and said, Hey, I think [00:04:00] that, you know, she’s got this going on. Um, and the pediatrician was like, yeah, I think you’re right.
Let’s test her. And that $29 test, like, you know, answered all the things, didn’t give us a, a solution to the problem. But sometimes just knowing what’s happening is a sigh of relief. Right. And so, That’s really what led it for us. And then over the years, being on all those antibiotics, completely destroyed her gut.
Um, we ended up moving states from Nebraska to Missouri and her new pediatrician, we’d gotten into her office at simultaneously at the same time as she was experiencing, um, a head to toe yeast infection because, you know, her gut
floor
Irene Ortiz-Glass: floor was
Rhiannon Neuharth: thrown outta whack.
And that’s when I decided that we’re not doing this anymore.
We’re not doing the medication anymore. This is not working. It’s not sustainable. It’s not healthy, it’s not good for her. And, um, then we moved again, moved to Florida for her health because the warm weather was great for her. And so we moved and had another great pediatrician, and that’s when we found out about M [00:05:00] T H F R.
That’s where that whole journey began for, for me, diving down the rabbit hole again.
Irene Ortiz-Glass: Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, M T H F R is what nobody understands, right? And it is, I’ve told you myself, my own personal journey has been that M T H F R was one of the unlocks for me. For me being well and healing. Can you tell us a little bit about what is M T H F R?
It sounds like a really bad word, so maybe, maybe explain why should we even care about that before we get in a little bit more into genetic testing.
Rhiannon Neuharth: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, the thing is, is a lot of people tend to isolate mt. H M T H F R as. You know, like it’s the be all end all right? And, and the reality is, is it’s works in conjunction for or against us with other simultaneous genes. And that’s why testing is so important. But Mt. H of R has to do with methylation and detoxification of our bodies.
And that’s not just through detoxing chemicals, but also hormones and moving those through. And as you know how important that is [00:06:00] because. Estrogen causes an issue, and then you have with histamine and you know it’s all connected. And so often people go to a doctor and they find the thing, but they don’t look at the overall big picture.
Irene Ortiz-Glass: Yeah,
Rhiannon Neuharth: Your, your cardiac system, you know, your heart system, your respiratory system, all these things are connected. And they’ll go to a cardiologist and be like, oh, well you’ve got this one issue. Here’s the medicine for that. And then you go to the GI doctor, here’s your one issue and here’s the medicine for that.
But no one really takes a peek at the overall body and how it’s functioning together or not functioning together. And that’s really where I come
in.
with what I do.
Irene Ortiz-Glass: So tell us what you do. What is your approach to genetic testing and what can it tell us about our bodies in particular hormones? Because I know M T H F R is big for estrogen dominance, detoxification of hormones, um, you know, methylating for our brain, right?
I mean, for me it was really, I was not methylating and so I was having a lot of like, Issues with cognition and issues with, you know, some moodiness and [00:07:00] some like anxiety. And, I mean, as soon as I started taking a supplement and, you know, not even a medication, I felt so, so much better. So what is the approach that you take in your practice to help women with hormones and to help them, you know, what, what is, what is the process?
Rhiannon Neuharth: Yeah, absolutely. So what I like to do is I like to allow your genes to do the talking because we have enough of talking heads between the internet, between doctors and a lot of generic advice, especially for M T H F R. You know, you’ll see a lot out there of take a methylated vitamin and you’ll feel great.
But I have a lot of people that can’t tolerate methyl vitamin. They can’t tolerate, you know, any folic acid, obviously with M T H F R. And so the, one of the first questions I ask people is, are you taking a methylated vitamin? And how are you feeling with that? And the reason I ask that right off the bat is because then I’ll know if they’re sensitive to methyl donors, if they have increased anxiety or depression since starting that methylated vitamin.
And I’ve had people that I’ve talked to over the course of, you know, the last few months [00:08:00] even. That have said, you know, oh my gosh, I started it and within a few days I had anxious thoughts. I was suicidal. I was this or that, and it’s terrifying for me to know that these doctors are just recommending this without any sort of alternative or I.
You know, it’s just a blanket, one size fits all, which that’s not how our bodies are designed, and so it’s frustrating. So I just allow those tests to do the talking, get to know them and their bodies a little bit, what they’re really struggling with, because brain fog, fatigue, all those things are very, very, very common.
I. In dealing with these issues with M T H F R, because if you’re not methylating and you’re not detoxifying, all that stuff is just recirculating and sitting back in your body and you’re not gonna find relief. But optimizing your genes through your lifestyle, through your nutrition, through supplementation, is what that blueprint allows us to do, and create and optimal roadmap for you so that way you can have your genes functionally properly and not be.
Sitting here going, why am I like this? Is it me? And then [00:09:00] doctors gaslighting and telling you, you’re just gonna have to live that way.
Irene Ortiz-Glass: Yeah. And you know, it’s interesting there, M t HFR is like the hot vibe, right? It’s the one everybody talks about ’cause it’s, you know, very key to to, to methylation. Very key to cleaning out toxins. But there’s many others. I mean, I think another one that has been important for me as C O M T, so understanding how I break down.
Um, then they’re neurochemicals, right? Adrenaline and some of those things that, you know, I make a lot of, but I don’t break down easily. And I know that also impacts, you know, the way we think in our moods and the way we feel with stress. And so, can you tell us a little bit about the impact of this genetic testing and how we manage that?
Because stress is a part of all of our lives, but if we can’t. Break down the chemicals. You know what I, the best term someone used working with me a long time ago was, you’re, you’re on, you’re in a traffic jam, Irene, when you get stressed and when you’re in high octane mode, you go really well for a while, then you just are in a traffic jam.
And so I’ve [00:10:00] actually, you know, reminded myself from time to time, I’m having a traffic jam. I need to take a break.
Rhiannon Neuharth: Yeah, it’s a hundred percent true. And you know, I, when I work with my clients, I do so in a three-pronged approach. So I teach about the nutrition, I teach about detoxification and how important that is so that, you know, a lot of people are running into endocrine disruptors every single day by things that they don’t even think about.
And so removing those from the home as much as possible, because we’re never going to escape all of them. Let’s be real. The air we breathe, the water we drink, it’s got stuff in it. And so if we can reduce what we’re cooking on, what we’re storing our food in, those types of things. That’s gonna be a huge factor as well.
But the last part, like you mentioned, that stress piece, if you’re with comt, whether that be fast or slow, if you’re not able to process those things on a normal level, they’re gonna build up and cause a traffic jam. I like to refer it to it as like, you’re driving a car and one of your tires sp flattens, and the rest of your car is like wobbly and shaky, right?
Like the whole system’s not gonna work, right? If [00:11:00] one thing is not working
right? so that can cause backups or, um, maybe you’re moving it too fast.
then that’s
gonna cause an issue too. So being able to isolate and identify which, um, which SS and pss are going to be problematic based on your cellular pathways, is the approach that I take.
So working with the top three, and then we can work with the next three and then so on and so forth until you feel like I’ve got a handle on this. I think I know what I’m doing now. So,
Irene Ortiz-Glass: And what do you notice with, you know, the perimenopausal transition and women, like what do you notice about, you know, those cases when you deal with them in how can genetic testing support.
You know, better decision making for hormone therapy because clearly women are trying, you know, coming to me saying, I need H R T, I don’t even know where to start. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do. But, you know, and I tell them, I, I, I would be weary of doing anything until we know how your body actually uses these hormones.
I mean, do you have any thoughts on that?
Rhiannon Neuharth: Yeah, so just a couple things like [00:12:00] higher estrogen, it’s gonna trigger more histamine, for example, which is gonna trigger more estrogen, which can cause di dysregulation of body temperature. So think hot flashes, right? And generally if you have high histamine, your poor methylator too. So all of these things play a factor.
Your hormone dysregulation can come from mast cell degranulation. It’s, it’s not just like, Hey, my hormones are outta whack. It’s why are your hormones outta whack? Like, What, what’s going on in there, right? So it’s important to look and see if they are, um, processing methyl estrogens. Well, if they have proper adrenal function.
Um, ’cause imbalance, cortisol response when histamine’s elevated can cause issues with sleep, wake cycles and body temperature. And we do find that most people often feel better in their lule phase. Um, but knowing too that also estrogen downregulates dao, which is going to help to break down histamine, for example.
All these things are so important to know. So it’s really taking all of the pieces of the puzzle, looking at your blueprint and [00:13:00] going, Hmm, this one’s interesting. Let’s look into that one a little bit more, and how does that come into factor with this one over here? So we can really look and see a comprehensive approach.
And then I can say, all right, if we haven’t already, let’s look into Dutch testing to see in real time where we’re at and how these genes are playing a factor.
Irene Ortiz-Glass: Yeah. And that’s what we use in the practices Dutch testing and highly support the idea of genetic testing.
Like I said, I, I wouldn’t have been able to unlock the full healing. I have a lot of issues with detoxification. I’m on a patch and I don’t have ovaries, and that patch is regulated through my own efforts to detoxify through supplementing for m t hfr as well as eating certain things and green tea for my, you know, C O M T issues.
So it’s like the simplest things. Can he help heal? Um, tell us about the actual genetic test that you use. If, if those that are listening today decide they wanna move in that direction with us, what. What is it called and how is it different? I mean, there’s a lot of genetic tests out there so people can get confused.
Maybe clarify that a little bit for us.
Rhiannon Neuharth: Yeah, so [00:14:00] I have a lot of people that will come and be like, well, how is this different than a 23 me test or something like that? And it’s completely different because a couple things. One, a lot of tests that are out there are just going to tell you. Um, plus, plus, plus minus, minus, minus. And that’s it. And they’re not going to give you any details.
Your doctor’s not gonna know how to support you. They’re just gonna say, here’s your result. Have a good day. Right? And that’s the experience that we had. And she’d only tested for the C 6 7, 7 T. She didn’t even test for 1, 2, 8, 9, 8. So like, knowing that you have one that’s great, but you need a more, um, comprehensive approach to looking at genetics.
It’s not just that one size fits all. So what I do with this, uh, testing and how this is different, for example, And should you get a complete genetic blueprint with this? So it’s gonna give you the top three pathways that we need to work on first. It’s gonna tell you the lifestyle modifications that you should be making, whether that be, Hey, you should be doing swimming, and if you already love swimming, then you’re like, huh, that makes sense.
I love to swim, so I’m gonna swim [00:15:00] some more. Um, maybe that’s meditating. Having weekly massages, Qigong, your jeans will tell you what types of activity are good for your body. The other thing is it’s going to be able to tell me, Hey, these supplements are a good idea based on these genetic factors, and it’s gonna tell me what foods you that you should be eating. So knowing that in those top three pathways, you and I can work together to create a comprehensive blueprint just for you to say, okay, for the next three months, we’re gonna work on these three things, and this is the foods that you should be eating. These are the ones that you should be avoiding, and these are the supplements we’re going to integrate.
Now with the caveat of we’re not doing everything at one time. I like to ease in because there could be one thing that either does the huge difference for you or it could set you back, and we need to be able to identify that, not make guesswork. So having that blueprint, it’s around 31 pages. It does show you, you know, where on all the systems that are high, very high, low [00:16:00] level.
Test 160 different genes. So it’s not just gonna give you the plus, plus, plus minus. You’re literally gonna have a roadmap for your health that’s never gonna change. Your genes are, are what they are. So I really feel like they should be doing this on babies at, at birth. So parents can know these things.
Um, but I have a lot of parents coming to me now, like, you know, what, how is this going to affect them long term? You know, what if I find something out that I, I don’t wanna know? And I’m like, well, you can prevent the thing that you don’t want.
Irene Ortiz-Glass: right.
Rhiannon Neuharth: better, right? Like and so supporting your genes and optimizing them through the lifestyle modifications, through the supplementing and through the dietary approach.
It’s that three-pronged approach. So that comprehensive blueprint is completely changing lives, and it’s making so much more sense for people when they can see it on paper and go, oh my gosh, that’s why X, Y, Z. It makes so much more sense now. And it gives them that validation that doctors have been brushing aside often.
Irene Ortiz-Glass: Yeah. I mean it’s the why, [00:17:00] you know, it’s uncovering the why. It’s not just I’m symptomatic, here’s a pill, it’s, there’s a why to this and we need to solve for that instead of just throwing pills at the problem or, you know, quick fixes.
Because we are a system and we believe in seeking the system, systemic approach to healing all the way around, and hormones and genetics are play together, right in a very, very intricate way. So tell us how people can find you, um, if they’re interested in reaching out to work with you, what, what’s the best way to find you?
Rhiannon Neuharth: Yeah, so you can find me on TikTok at mtfr Coach. You can also find me on Instagram or Facebook. Um, you can find me on my website@revitalizingwellness.com. And you can also email me at Mt Hfr, coach@revitalizingwellness.com.
Irene Ortiz-Glass: That’s wonderful. I really appreciate you being here today, and for those of you on today, you can also find rhiannon’s information on our website, min coaching.com, along with videos that we offer on demand. These podcasts will also be available to [00:18:00] you. To download and listen to or share with others.
Please make sure and give us your feedback. We care about what people think. If these are helpful, we want to reach out and help more women going through this transition to get the help they need to heal and look at the whole body as a system. So please make sure and do that. Um, the book, um, the Body Whispers before it Screams that I wrote will be out in October.
Very excited about that. And we also offer coaching services online as well. So lots of resources for everyone. Um, our, our goal is that everyone can find health and healing and thrive again even during this period of menopause. So Rhiannon, thank you for being part of our team and a resource to our folks.
We’re so grateful to have time with you today. So thanks again.
Rhiannon Neuharth: Absolutely. It’s an honor to be here.
Irene Ortiz-Glass: Take care.
Rhiannon Neuharth: Thank you.
Irene Ortiz-Glass: All right.
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