Introduction
[00:00:59] Detective Ev: What is going on my friends? Welcome back to another episode of the Health Detective Podcast by FDNthrive. My name is Evan Transue, AKA Detective Ev. I will be your host for today’s show. We have with us Dr. Lulu Schimek and she is a naturopathic physician.
I love bringing these types of people on because Dr. Lulu actually doesn’t necessarily have the craziest health story in the world. Of course, that’s typically who we talk to on this show. But I think someone that has the ability to help people with these types of issues that maybe conventional treatments were not able to help, I think it’s really worth bringing these types of people on.
I also think one of my favorite parts of the podcast was her really getting a chance to shine light on what goes into naturopathic schooling. Because so often this is something that’s written off as not a real doctor or it’s something that anyone can get into. Both of those things could really not be further from the truth.
Who Is Dr. Lulu?
But a little bit about her. She is a naturopathic physician, like I said, and also an expert in genetic health. She believes that once we dive deep down to the root of the problem of the distortion and ignite our body’s innate ability to heal, we see unimaginable changes in our wellbeing. Now, not only does Dr. Schimek have a lot to say about health, I thought her theory about what can happen with genetics was really interesting and we don’t get to that until the end of the show.
Basically, we kind of all have a familiarity with epigenetic expression. In case you somehow don’t, epigenetic expression is just this relatively new field of research that goes into the idea that our genes can be more or less activated – meaning that I might have a gene that is associated with a higher risk of a certain cancer or a certain auto -immune disease.
However, if I make certain lifestyle changes or live in the right environment, it does not get expressed, so I do not end up with that cancer or with that autoimmune disease. That is kind of how epigenetics works. Now, Dr. Lulu said something that I haven’t heard before, and that’s why I find it incredibly intriguing.
She believes that there’s actually a chance that we can change the genes themselves without Western medicine intervention, through environmental changes and especially mindset stuff. I don’t want to preface this too much. Here’s the thing, because that might sound far out. I always think about the placebo effect and what that’s able to do.
And the fact that the placebo effect is profound enough that we actually have to match that up against new medications that come to market. They have to pass a placebo. Now, depending on the company that you are, you might just ignore the studies that show that your medication doesn’t pass a placebo. That’s totally never happened in the category of the SSRIs that are out there, but I digress.
The point is, how cool would this be if we could change the genes and never really had to change the genes with Western medicine. I think that sounds pretty cool. I think it is a theory and Dr. Lulu recognizes that it is just a theory at this time. But if we could do something like that, that is a step above the epigenetic expression conversation, and it opens up a whole new world.
And if people have cured or resolved terminal cancers, incurable quote/unquote “auto-immune diseases” from mindset and placebo effects, is there really a limit on what our mindset can’t change in our biology and physiology? I don’t know. I don’t think really any of us know. But Dr. Lulu is studying the genes and she is someone who seems to be a little more aware of this than the average person.
Discount For Listeners
Hey guys, Detective Ev here once again, and just wanted to thank Dr. Lulu for giving us a special discount to our listeners for her eight-week Adrenal Restart Program.
This is a program that will help you go from fatigue to fabulous. These are her words, not mine, but I do guarantee it. Well, I kind of guarantee it. I can’t really claim that. Anyway, you’re going to want to go to doclulu.com/adrenal-fatigue. That’s D O C L U L U.com/adrenal-fatigue. This is a hundred dollars off for our listeners. It expires March 27th, 2022. The coupon code is healthdetective22, that’s healthdetective22 at doclulu.com/adrenal-fatigue.
All right. Dr. Lulu, thanks so much for being here with us today.
[00:05:39] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Thanks for having me, Evan. I’m so excited to be here and talk all about health.
[00:05:43] Detective Ev: Yeah, I love these podcasts because this is a nice little switch up.
We bring on experts as our audience knows a lot. But in, whatever this is going to be, a hundred-something episodes, we have had a lot more people tell their story basically of the health issues that they’ve been through. Then yes, they might become professionals themselves, and that’s wonderful.
But I think it’s amazing when we can get truly credentialed people that they’ve been in the natural space for a while doing their thing. Dr. Lulu, as you guys heard in the bio, is a naturopathic physician. I just think that’s awesome because that’s been around longer than the functional medicine category. You know what I mean?
I am curious though, because for someone who didn’t necessarily have any major health crisis, what encouraged you to get into that? Because I find rarely does someone get into this work, especially the line of work that you’re in, by accident. I don’t know any five-year-olds that say, I can’t wait to be a naturopathic doctor, unfortunately.
Path to Naturopathic Medicine
[00:06:29] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Exactly. Yeah. You know, Evan, what led me on my journey I think was like, from my own self-discovery. I was living in New York City and I kind of like was on the downside of the tracks, so to speak. I was really burning myself out. So, in one way I did.
I didn’t seek out naturopathic medicine; I sought out yoga, meditation, things like that. I moved from New York to California and lived at this yoga retreat center and totally immersed myself in mind-set. Then from there, I started learning all these different tools.
I was a natural chef. I started my own catering business. I was a yoga teacher. Then I learned how to be a massage therapist. I started learning all these things basically to help others like how I helped myself. Then from there, I started realizing I really wanted to dive deeper in helping people. I was like, this is not enough. Then I started searching out some ideas and I had seen, I don’t know, in passing and like in an ad or in a magazine, this was before it was all over the internet.
And my husband and I were going on our honeymoon, and I said, can we go by this school? I just want to check it out. So, we went, and I totally fell in love with it. I was like, this is the place for me. That’s kind of how I started my journey.
It was really about the more of that mindset piece. And that’s how I work with patients a lot. Cause I believe that a lot how we discover the root causes going on is that emotional aspect of our health.
[00:07:43] Detective Ev: Yeah. I think I’ve greatly underestimated that even in my own healing journey, you know. And I’m working on a lot of stuff like that right now. I’m doing NLP with a coach. So, I’m continuously trying to improve myself.
I know so many people that listen to this are doing that, but that’s not like looking back from what I’ve learned. I wouldn’t take the emotional stuff secondary-thing anymore, you know. Like that would have been up there with the primary stuff.
Yes. You can’t be eating McDonald’s every day. But if you have a bunch of stuff that happened to you as a kid or a stress that’s going on in your life right now, like a terrible relationship or whatever it might be, you got to work on that type of thing.
That’s really cool. It sounds like one of the primary drivers was just a genuine empathy for others and really wanting to support others. So that’s cool. That’s the type of person that should get into this.
De-stigmatizing Natural Medicine Education
Now, one of the things I love doing on this podcast, of course, it’s not the main point, but I love to de-stigmatize a lot of the things that happen in the natural space because, of course, people unfortunately have maybe some preconceived notions about functional medicine or even natural medicine.
So could you explain, it doesn’t have to be a long thing, but what does the education look like at Bastyr? Because people say, oh, that’s not a real college. I know what it takes. That is a real college, my friends. So let’s give us a little background about what goes on there.
[00:08:50] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Sure. Yeah. Just as a side note that was the most intensive thing that I’ve ever done in my entire life, as far as schooling. I’ve had over almost 15 years of schooling with my undergrad.
And then I’ve majored in interior design in my undergrad in art school. It was totally different and still the same kind of the brain, but used in different way. But then I had to go back and do all my pre-recs. I have a lot of schooling.
Bastyr, just to answer your question, when we look at them kind of like neck and neck, like from, if you put them side by side, like an MD program and the naturopathic medical program, in the beginning it’s very similar. We have a cadaver lab, we have all of the phlebotomy, we have all of the science aspects. We actually have more hours than an MD.
Then when you go into the aspects of nutrition, we have a huge nutrition program and then we have all these other modalities. When it comes to learning, let’s say we’re learning about gynecology, for instance. We learn all the natural tools to help with wellness in that category, instead of it just being like the science based. We learn both sides, the pharmaceuticals and all the herbs, all the nutraceuticals, all the supplements, everything for that specific condition, so we can treat the root cause instead of just treating the symptoms and suppressing the symptoms. It’s much, much more in depth when we go into our advanced work.
[00:10:04] Detective Ev: Okay. That’s a perfect explanation. I just really wish people understood that, because anyone that says that, just has never even looked it up, and I get that. But they’ll do the same thing with chiropractic medicine. And to be fair naturopathic, from my understanding, generally speaking, is intense in terms of the level of intensity is way up there. Like even compared to the chiropractic schools. You know what I mean?
So, it’s not a joke. These people know quite a lot. Like you said, you have to learn almost both sides because you can’t just be prescribing some type of supplement or protocol without knowing what is this person on medication-wise. That’s one of the huge differences between what you do and what our FDNs do, not that there’s anything wrong with it. But we can’t even have a conversation around the medication. That is a separate thing that you need your doctor for. Whereas a naturopathic physician might actually, depending on the state, be able to have those conversations. So, I really enjoy that. Thank you for that explanation.
How long ago was it that you graduated and really got started? Did you start with a normal practice, brick and mortar type?
Dr. Lulu’s Practice
[00:10:55] Dr. Lulu Shimek: I graduated in 2015 and from Bastyr University in Seattle. Then my husband and I moved to North Carolina.
I grew up in Atlanta in this house. I wasn’t like my dream to move back here, but we looked all over the United States. We went on all these different trips, like feeling out, and I felt like I was most needed here. Because the people, one, like you said, they’re not as knowledgeable about alternative health and medicine.
And then I could also really work with the foundations of naturopathic medicine, which is really the basics, the food, the water, the exercise, helping people with chronic conditions like diabetes, just, you know, the basics. I felt like I was so needed in this area as opposed to where in the other states like California, Washington, Oregon, where, I don’t know, the natural medicine is a lot more like in the water, so to speak, you know?
So that’s one of the reasons why we moved to this area. I felt like in that way I could really provide, like we talked at the beginning, I could help others that really need me.
[00:11:52] Detective Ev: Right. Well, not only is what you just said true, I mean, I think it’s the opposite stereotype over here, that we know that the west coast has more. It’s funny because depending on the person, they would consider it either natural or like hippie stuff, which is hilarious. Cause this is so technical, and science based at this point.
But you wouldn’t know this about me, I found FDN – I live in Pennsylvania and at 21, I couldn’t find anyone that would really help me to the degree that I wanted to be helped in this area. I went out to California. I had no plan. I just went with my best friend, and we started going to these random health meetups because there was so many. There was more in the three-mile radius of San Diego than in the entire state of Pennsylvania, felt like.
[00:12:29] Dr. Lulu Shimek: I grew up in California as a child.
And I just remember, we lived in this little cabin up in the mountains and there was mushrooms growing up in the carpet, my bedroom. I was just like, it is that natural feeling, but it’s also people like they thrive on it. It is a very different mentality. It’s like California is its own state.
[00:12:52] Detective Ev: Right. It’s just anyone out there, even if they’re not engaging with the natural stuff, is still clearly aware of where to get it. I mean, I couldn’t walk through San Diego without seeing another health food store or farmer’s market, naturopath on this corner, acupuncture is here. It was wow, I love going there.
I just visited recently with my girlfriend for the second time ever. I just felt so good to be back, especially considering it was December. It feels really good to be in San Diego.
That aside just to be clear, you were taking patients one-on-one in the office. Is that something that you still do?
[00:13:20] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Oh yeah. Sorry. I lost track of that. We moved to North Carolina, and I started my own practice. Had a small practice, and then I opened a much larger clinic where I had 18 practitioners and just all different types of modalities. Then when COVID hit, I had to close the clinic because I couldn’t keep it open.
So, I went private/solo again and now I just function as seeing patients virtually all over the world in a telemedicine aspect. Then I do programs. I’ve moved into this program model where patients can come, and they work with me and with other people in a healing atmosphere, which I actually find is a much more accelerated aspect of healing when you’re in a group environment, because you can relate, and you can share. I actually am enjoying it so much more than I used to. But yeah, now I’m working just one-on-one again, which I love. I’m just not doing the physical aspect of actually working and doing hands-on treatment like I used to.
[00:14:12] Detective Ev: Right. Well, and for those that don’t know, and I think this is probably more in-depth than I even realized, I know that naturopathic physicians, can’t they do certain types of chiropractic adjustments, even if it wouldn’t mean by the hands-on or is there other stuff?
[00:14:23] Dr. Lulu Shimek: We have a year of chiropractic training in our program.
So, it’s called physical medicine. It’s like one of our toolboxes. We learn all about the body and how to do adjustments and all the muscles and stretching, I mean, everything. Because that’s a huge part of how we work with patients. It’s not only about labs and looking at things. We work with the body, the emotional body, the physical body, the spiritual body; it’s all together. You can’t separate them.
[00:14:47] Detective Ev: Cool. I want to get into it a little more now we’ve got the background. I always love doing that. When you started working with people one-on-one, I know that you recognize the emotional thing and perhaps that’ll be the answer to this question. I’m curious though, if you were seeing any common patterns of major issues that were going on, because a naturopath is a lot different in a sense of business-wise than an FDN, because an FDN will be trained kind of to focus on one niche.
It’s kind of ironic because we don’t address anything specifically. FDN is a modality made for everything non-specifically. But for business sake, you know, it’s smart to be like, okay, I help people with sleep problems. I’m going to kind of focus there. Whereas for a naturopath, you can take all types of people and you’re going to see all types of people.
Was there a common theme that you were seeing? Is everyone dealing with emotional stuff? Was everyone just eating super crappy? Especially down south, I know just statistically speaking, it is a lot different, even in Pennsylvania. There is going to be in certain areas, more poverty and that is definitely associated with not as great eating.
What were some of the main things that you were seeing that were problems for people?
Mental Health & The Veteran’s Healing Farm
[00:15:45] Dr. Lulu Shimek: You know there’s two parts of that answer. One is that I work a lot with patients with mental health conditions, with anxiety, stress, depression. And the reason, the second part of that, is because not only I see that at my private practice, but I also work at a farm called the Veteran’s Healing Farm, which is right outside Asheville.
I run the botanical garden, the medicinal garden there, where I work with herbs. We have a clinic there at the farm that I run and it’s free health care for the veterans. I work with the veteran community and in that aspect, I’m seeing a lot of patients with PTSD.
I saw through my practice as I continue to grow, and we all evolve as we get out in the world and working as doctors. But I found that that was really a place where I enjoy helping people is like discovering their newfound joy, releasing that depression, how to deal with stress.
A lot of my patients have fatigue. I’ve worked with adrenal fatigue. That’s probably number one. That’s from the hormonal aspect that everybody wants to have more energy. It’s like, oh yeah, I want to be able to do the thing. So, what’s holding them back from that. That’s a lot about the emotional piece.
I think that’s what I discovered is that I think stress is the root cause of so many conditions, especially since the pandemic. I’ve seen that accelerate 100% in my practice.
[00:16:58] Detective Ev: It’s interesting that you bring up the mental health thing because even outside of FDN and stuff, one of the reasons I got into this was the mental health aspect.
And now I do some stuff in schools with kids. It doesn’t have anything to do with natural. It’s not that I won’t mention it, but you know, a sixth grader might not necessarily be able to receive that message at the time. What are they supposed to do? Mom and dad, I need to go eat organic or change my diet. Not quite there yet.
So, it’s more to me just making sure they’re asking for help. Cause a lot of kids will keep this in silence. A lot of adults will keep it in silence, let’s be honest. But I just think that’s amazing that that’s one of the things that you were seeing and helping people with.
So, did you find that changing certain dietary stuff was consistently successful for these types of people? Because I’m always willing to talk about anything that helps people suffering with mental health issues. Or was it more the emotional stuff for them? Because I know that you’ve kind of already alluded to that part.
The Power of Food & Communication
[00:17:45] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Yeah. You know, I think there’s all parts of those connected. There’s a lot of different foods that can activate the neurotransmitters. I work a lot with patients with looking at that nutritional plan or that dietary aspect. What types of foods are in there that are going to be activating the brain? What type of signals are they sending to the gut-brain connection? That is a big piece.
And then also that emotional piece and helping them dive deep into a self-reflection. So, I have my own, your own power program that really dives deep into speaking your own power, especially women with the thyroid.
And how do we communicate? Have we been able to express our truth? How do we communicate with our loved ones? When we don’t express ourselves, then that causes us to be in a disease state because we’re not living our truth and living from that place of health that we want to be. It’s really, they go hand in hand.
I love food. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a health chef and I had my own business. I love teaching people about food because people have lost the will and love for cooking. It’s like they want to go buy something that’s already made off the shelf. Teaching them about even the simple things like, yeah, when you each eat this food, it actually activates this different part of your body and cell. It gives your brain food and energy, and it can help you feel better.
[00:18:59] Detective Ev: Okay. I was wondering how the diet and emotional stuff connected. This is what basically happened to me. I had a really good life growing up for the most part. Nothing to complain about. And I don’t even mean to underplay it. It’s just like no, objectively speaking, it was pretty damn good.
Yet I had these severe mental health issues. We now know looking back that a lot of my mental and physical health issues were from the dietary things. My mom was sick when she was a kid, and no one caught this wheat sensitivity eating like crap.
I’m a skinny guy so we thought I could eat whatever I wanted, basically. It wasn’t a huge deal. That’s not to imply a negligence. My parents made sure I had the normal meals, but since I didn’t gain weight, it was like, oh, well, he can also eat candy and stuff. My parents didn’t know anything about this, and this was 20-something years ago at this point.
Stressful Emotions Matter
But the thing that was happening to me during the pandemic is that I started getting skin stuff again, and I really don’t get acne anymore. But lately I’ve been getting some. That’s why I started with this NLP coach a couple of weeks ago, because I said, what’s going on here? I’m doing the same things I was always doing. Like this was always working.
And what she kind of concluded already, because again, we’re pretty new into the work, but she was saying, you know what, Ev, I think, just hearing what you’re saying, this pandemic – the tough emotions with this and what’s happening -this is kind of re-triggering a lot of this stuff that came up for you in childhood, in the middle school years.
Yeah, you’re doing all the right things biochemically, you’re keeping all your same “Ev habits.” In fact, you’re doing stricter than ever before. But the emotional stuff’s coming up. And I don’t think I’m someone who’s naturally good at recognizing that and I’m learning to be.
I just had this realization moment, it’s kind of hilarious because you think you would notice this about yourself. Like I am so stressed just about the state of the world. It’s not like my job’s not great and the things that I’m doing aren’t great, but it bothers me what’s going on. I’m scared. I’m a younger guy. I’m like, what is the world going to look like in four or five years?
Am I going to be able to have kids in this world? And my family going to be safe? We don’t realize, I think all the time that we’re taking that on. So, let’s say there’s one person out there like me, that’s kind of relating to this last year. Right, right, right. Where would you even start?
Is there a general tip that you can give someone for that type of thing?
Basic, Functional, Genetic Testing and Managing Stress
[00:20:52] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Right.
First, I always start with doing a baseline testing, just like the basics, a CBC panel or a wellness panel, things like that. Then I want to see what’s going on. If there’s anything right off the bat that I notice, then I’ll usually do some functional medicine testing on top of that.
Seeing how the cells are functioning. Then I work with genetics. I will do some genetic testing to see if there’s a specific, like maybe there is a part of the body that’s not functioning well, as far as the genetics go, that we can look at that nutrition in a deeper way. Cause there’s a lot of genes that relate to the emotional aspect of the body.
And when we look at the genetics, we can see, you know, is there specific foods that are better for us or not as good for us? Or is there a specific exercise or mindset? You know, some people, it will say like on a genetic report, with your genetic makeup if you’re doing this type of meditation, it will really help for your self care, something like that.
You know? I think that it’s really, multi-layered when we look at that piece, when it comes to stress. You know, it can be also very simple. Like you said, you know, you’re like, okay, yeah, I feel I’m feeling the stress of the pandemic. Well, let’s just look at some basics of how you handle stress, how you can manage stress.
And that can be just as simple as doing breathing exercises. It doesn’t have to be as complicated as I’ve just mentioned. But sometimes if somebody is really in a deep state of stress and they are having a chronic disease, then I’ll go down that road diving deeper. But, you know, we can just start with the foundations of health and that really can shift things just tremendously in the very beginning.
[00:22:20] Detective Ev: Yeah, you always want to start with the basics before we start getting to dive deep.
[00:22:24] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Right. Exactly. Don’t go dive deep into the crazy road. Cause that can get expensive if you’re also doing that way with a lot of tests that insurance doesn’t cover.
So of course, I want to start at those basic levels, do the foundations of health, which most people can see a big shift in that. As soon as patients start to see me in my practice for the first visit, which is two visits, I start them immediately on my three-week detox program. That’s how they start.
They start eliminating all of those trigger foods and start bringing in foods that really start to nourish and nurture their body. Then if there’s a mental health piece that’s going along, say they’re having a lot of anxiety, then I’ll say, okay, let’s bring in this other mindset piece. Let’s put you on my five-week mindset program, because then that helps them to really dive in.
Okay. Meditation – thinking about things, identifying stress. How do they deal with anxiety? How are they sleeping? Those foundations are so key.
[00:23:14] Detective Ev: Yeah. We’ll definitely mention those programs at the end for everyone. Just so we’re all clear on that. But one thing I really wanted to talk to you about today was the genetic aspect cause I know that’s important for you judging by your podcast name and just want to shout that out real quick for everyone where they can find that.
[00:23:27] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Yeah, that’s The Genetic Genius. Yeah, I interview people all about different aspects of it. It’s not just about DNA and the genetics, but I think there’s a lot of different things we’re learning. We’re really on a surface when it comes to learning about genetics. So, my podcasts kind of like dive deeper into things that people don’t always think about.
[00:23:44] Detective Ev: Well, yeah. Obviously again, I could have waited until the end, but if I’m going to mention, I want to make sure it’s shouted out now.
And it’s a good name too. It’s kind of a catchy name. It’s amazing, when I started doing this podcast for FDN, I’m like, oh, we’re going to run out of things to say, and it’s like, you’re out of your mind.
When you live in our bubble that we live in, you forget how much knowledge you’re accumulating over the years. No, we’ll never run out of things to say. I mean, it’s ever expanding. So yeah, no one’s ever really come on here other than doctor Dr. Courtney Hunt, she was episode number 90. You guys can check that out.
Cellular Makeup, Genetic Patterns
And that wasn’t the full thing though. She was talking about genetics to some degree, but I’d love to spend kind of the remainder of the time really touching on this. You said something so important already. We’re just in the beginning, it’s kind of in the infancy discovering this stuff, but it has validity.
Right. I see a lot of old-school practitioners, they kind of dismiss it completely. Because at a time, we really shouldn’t have maybe been using it or trusting it a hundred percent. But I know for myself, I sometimes utilize these tests. I’ve seen how well this can work. So, from your perspective, how is this used?
And I think one of the biggest things that’d be confusing even to a consumer in the functional health space would be like, well, a genetic thing, isn’t that something that they would catch at birth? Because we’re kind of talking about a different type of genetic right here. So, break it down and give us the rundown.
[00:24:55] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Sure. Yeah. Let’s talk about the types of different testing. There’s two categories that your listeners might be familiar with. One is the ancestral DNA test. That’s going to test all the DNA where you could be connected to people all over the different parts of the world. That’s a different category.
We’re talking about the actual cellular makeup, your genetic patterns. And there’s tons of different SNPs as part of that genetic makeup. I mean, when we do the code, it’s sheets and sheets and sheets and sheets of different genetic numbers. When we’re looking at the DNA – at that genetic code, what it gives us a map because it’s a blueprint of our body. It allows us to see deeper into it from that prevention standpoint. It allows us to see, like I mentioned, different things, different components, how our body responds to different vitamins and minerals. Really important.
Because when we’re taking the supplement, we want to know it’s working. We want to know it’s the right one. Otherwise, we’re just flushing it right down the toilet. That’s one thing I think I love about genetic testing is that we can really dive deep into seeing that.
And the nutrition. So are there specific foods like caffeine, for instance, that you are a slow metabolizer or you’re a fast metabolizer? There’s specific foods it’ll tell you, different diets or nutritional plans that are actually better for your metabolism. Which is really important if I have a patient, for example, that like, no matter what I do, I can’t lose weight. That’s very common.
I work with a lot of women in that kind of age group where they’re kind of like stuck in that. And I went, let’s do a genetic testing and see if there’s some genes that are out of alignment with your body, so to speak, that we can shift and help you to actually lose.
Then there’s the exercise perspective. So, you know, is hardcore, cardio good for you? Or maybe you need more weight resistance, maybe you need more relaxing things, you know? So, I think it’s really important because it gives people this inside blueprint. They can actually feel empowered. That’s what I love about working with genetics. Cause it’s totally science based and we’re learning more and more and more about it. There’s new evidence coming out all the time.
You know, another side note is that some people are afraid to have their genetic work done. They’re like, oh my gosh, everybody’s going to know about me. It’s going to be posted all over the internet. They’re going to use my data. I’m like, well, one, you can tell them you don’t want that to happen. And two, they can’t. It’s against the law to use that data if you don’t want them to.
So, if you want to let them use it for studying and testing, that’s great. They can use that. But if you’re afraid, if you’re listening out there and you’re worried, like, okay, well they’re going to take my data and everyone’s going to know what I’m like. Well, no, that’s not so true. But it can really help you to see. It empowers patients. It really helps them to discover a new way of health.
Preventative Health Management
And it’s this new age of health that we’re moving into, I think as you know. You’ve been in it for a little about yourself. We’re moving this whole state of prevention and wellness. We’re moving out of the disease state and working through the genetics, allows us to see that.
And the other part of genetics that people sometimes are worried, well, it’s going to say you’re more prone to XYZ, maybe celiac disease, for instance. That doesn’t mean necessarily that that’s going to happen for you. What that means is that from a prevention standpoint, maybe you need to be more aware of the gluten that you’re eating.
Maybe you need to be more aware of your thyroid, how those organs are relating to each other. Empowers us with information to have a better health plan moving forward, and for longevity to have this amazing life, the healthiest that we can be.
[00:28:16] Detective Ev: Right. And I think it’s a slow shift, but society is moving towards this idea of like, wow, preventative medicine, what a concept. Instead of waiting until the person is actually full out in a disease state, we can actually do stuff proactively.
Then of course, many people find this, let’s be honest, not even because of that. Just because the conventional medicine way couldn’t really figure their stuff out. That’s typically how it goes on the Health Detective Podcast. I say this every episode that we mention Western medicine. Guys, no one here is against that by any means. We have conventional doctors come on, literally all the time.
But the thing is, it’s a system that was created for specific things. We are seeing new things in today’s world where it just doesn’t work. If the doctors can’t figure out a diagnosis for it, there’s nothing they can really do treatment-wise because that’s what they’re trained to do.
[00:28:57] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Yeah, their toolbox is so small and limited, like it’s really limited.
They only get, I think 20 hours of nutrition at the most. That’s the ones that study more. Sometimes it’s even less, it’s just like one class. That’s not enough to help someone, like if somebody is coming to see me with PCOS, I always want to look and see what their nutrition is and do lab testing.
Then I’m like, you didn’t have this done with all the other doctors that you saw, how is that possible? You know? It’s because their toolbox is so limited, not to say we don’t need that type of medicine. But I think it’s limiting us as a world, as a population, to have the best health that we can be when the education is not there to support the people in all the different modalities around that can help.
[00:29:36] Detective Ev: Yeah. That’s the kind of objective view that we’re always striving to have. Because guys, yeah, in the early 1800s, when infant mortality, even in America was like 50% when people are dying of very easy to treat bacteria and stuff now. No, Western medicine kicks ass. It’s a great thing that we have!
But the thing is, the advancements of our society, not even just in Western medicine, I’m talking everything, just tech, the advancements in food, you know, it’s not really an advancement if it’s hurting us. But that’s bringing up a new set of problems for human beings that Western medicine was just not originally designed for.
Again, when we keep saying the toolbelt thing, what we mean is there is legal bounds to what a doctor’s allowed to do. You know, they can only help you really with medication if there’s certain diagnoses made. Well, guess what guys, there’s legal bounds to those diagnoses. I can’t just decide that someone has depression because that’s what I feel like saying, that’s illegal. There’s a problem with that. It is kind of nice when we can use genetics or other functional testing to kind of get that big picture view or figure out what else is going on.
Genetic SNPs
And just one thing, I know it’s simple for you, but I know some people probably wouldn’t have heard of this on this podcast – genetic SNPs, what is the SNP thing stand for? Cause that’s what the acronym is.
[00:30:41] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Yeah, exactly. You could think of your cell, and within that cell you have the DNA within the cell. We have a code within that DNA. So, within that code, when we have a SNP, it’s a genetic variation or mutation of that genetic code.
So, when we look at, for example, I was looking at a sleep report. And I’ll just do different reports, whether that’s sleep, hormones, hair loss, showing the genetic SNPs, it’ll show me if there are specific SNPs. So that mutation that’s related to that category, that then can show if there’s a propensity for something to be out of alignment. Does that make sense?
Let’s say for instance mental health is a great one to look at. I’ll look at a mental health report, say someone’s having a lot of anxiety, an MTHFR gene will come up in that. So that gene specifically, I think that’s the one people talk about a lot, so it’s easy to talk about, cause you’re like, oh yeah, I’ve heard that word. So that gene specifically, it’s all about methylation.
When we have a reaction in our body to go from A to B, we need to have something in between that. Right. So, a methyl group. In organic chemistry, methyl group is added onto a molecule to go from A to B. So, when we have that mutation, basically that Intermatic reaction stops, it doesn’t finish it’s complete process. That can be really detrimental to the body.
Most of the time with MTHFR, we see it with the cardiovascular system and the neurological system. If somebody is having either one of those things, and as I mentioned, anxiety is in that neurological piece, I’ll always look at the MTHFR gene to see if there’s a mutation and whether that’s the homozygous or heterozygous mutation. Then to see what we need to do to help with that methylation process.
Fixable, Changeable, and Repairable DNA Theory
Looking at the genes of the SNPs allow us to see what that mutation is and how we can help the body to better deal with that mutation. And I’m under the thought process (now this is kind of getting more out there on the thought field), that our DNA is fixable, changeable, and repairable.
Now, you know, the medical train of thought is that that’s not possible right now. Our DNA is fixed. When we come in, this is it. That’s all you have to deal with. But I’m of the thought process that, no, I don’t think that’s true. I think we can change our DNA because our DNA needs to be activated.
And when we have the activation, it can change us, like our brain. We’re not using all our brains. The same thing, we’re not using all of our DNA. We just have to write the right tools to activate it. That’s getting a little bit farther out there on my thought process fields. I do think that’s going to be the next wave of DNA, I don’t know, studies so to speak.
Epigenetic Expression
[00:33:10] Detective Ev: Yeah. Well, I’m actually really fascinated by that point, because is that different than the theory of an epigenetic expression?
[00:33:18] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Yeah. So, epigenetics to explain what that is, that’s everything in our outside environment that changes our DNA. But that’s not changing our genetic code, our actual DNA code.
When we’re born, we have this specific DNA code. This is our code. It’s different from Johnny to Susie to down the line or even a twin. We have a different genetic code. I’m saying that if we have the right tools, whether that’s meditation, food, supplementation, I think that genetic code can be shifted so that we’re a higher evolved being.
Always Learning More
[00:33:47] Detective Ev: Wow. Awesome. Hey, here’s the thing. So, because I’ve been involved in the health space for about eight years now, and you see new science coming out. It’s coming out more rapidly than ever before, just because we have more resources as a world. All these different things.
There’s the internet, if it gets shared quicker, stuff like that. It’s humbling being involved in this space. Cause you know, you really did make the best decision that you could at a given time. Then more information comes out or another study comes out. You’re like, wow, that was not optimal really at all.
Or at the very least, there’s like a half truth. You realize there’s this whole other side to this. So, I don’t think conceptually it’s far out to say what you’re saying, because we’re humbled all the time in science.
I actually, I don’t know that I’ve heard that specific thing though. I haven’t heard it without the Western medicine intervention. I’ve heard of this new technology is coming out. China’s doing this with certain babies, I believe right now. Well, that’s a separate podcast, whether we agree with the ethics of that. But you’re saying that this could in theory be done without literally going in and genetically modifying a baby, cause that went so well when we did it with food.
[00:34:46] Dr. Lulu Shimek: No, I’m not talking about that particular modification for sure. You know, I just think that we, as spiritual and physical, emotional beings, that we have a lot more potential. I think that we’re on the cusp of learning what that potential is, and those tools are right on the edge of us discovering it.
Does that make sense? Like we’ve learned from genetics, we didn’t know 10 years ago, even last year, that when we have a genetic profile done, it can prevent so many things from happening. Maybe someone that spent thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars of testing, and they’re like, oh, let’s just do a genetic test.
And we can see these particular vitamins that could have helped you in a particular way. And you’re like, oh, well look at all that money I could have saved. I’m just saying an example, like now we’re at this place. Maybe in another five years, we’re going to be like, oh, well look at these things that could have activate your DNA to shift you into this new place.
[00:35:39] Detective Ev: And I agree. And so does the founder of FDN. Because Reed Davis always says, you know, he knows that at one point, it’s not going to be a bunch of labs. That you’re going to be able to go in and just basically do one simple thing. Who knows if it’s going to be blood, saliva? So, it doesn’t really matter. It’ll be one simple thing. We’ll be able to basically tell you every little thing that you could ever need to know. We’re going to get there. It’s just when.
[00:36:00] Dr. Lulu Shimek: We know it’s going to be. It’s in the thought process in the world, like you know, where they put you in the machine and then it scans you and then they can see. It’s like Star Trek. So that technology is not that far around the corner. I know it. I can see it.
[00:36:12] Detective Ev: Well, that’s the thing. Yeah. I think we’re on a very similar wavelength here where like I do believe that human beings are capable of just about anything. I think we’ve been given just enough consciousness wise and resource wise to figure this out. Just takes some time.
But this isn’t even that far out. We already know that we have labs that can help people. We talk to people all the time on this show that resolve health issues. All that means is this is going to get even more concentrated and more accurate over time. Even the genetic stuff is having such a profound effect on people.
I think this is what’s tough for people to understand, even myself sometimes, like there’s only so many well-studied genetic SNPs right now. Right. We’re going to keep learning more and more. These are so helpful already. I mean, what happens when we have thousands of these that we could run for cheap and an affordable price, and people can get it all checked out and we know how to actually make an educated decision with that.
[00:36:56] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Right. Yeah. When 23andMe first came out and they were doing the genetic testing, I mean, it was just a very, very limited amount of SNPs that they were even looking at. Like I said, when the code that we look at is pages and pages, and I’ll give it to patients who are like, I have no clue what any of this means.
And that’s another important thing. If you are going to be doing testing, I really recommend that you’re working with a practitioner or with a company that can help you analyze it because it’s very complicated. It’s not just like you can understand it. And you want to be able to really use that information in a way that’s empowering to you, not just like, have that information and put it over into your file cabinet that you never looked at.
[00:37:34] Detective Ev: And if someone like yourself who obviously has the ability to analyze it, this is when I would definitely love to transition the conversation a little bit. Before we even talk about necessarily what it is you’re offering, I think it’s important to ask this question because this matters to me and it matters to the audience, for sure.
Ideal Client
Who is the ideal type of person, what characteristics do they have, whether it’s maybe a health issue, whether it’s maybe a personality trait, that would come to work with you? Because we get to talk to so many people on here that I’d rather everyone get a little piece of the pie. You know what I mean?
This isn’t about one person getting a ton. Some people are going to be great for you and others are going to need another person that we’ve had on. So, who’s your ideal client?
[00:38:06] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Yeah. My ideal person, I work with women mainly because, unfortunately, they’re the ones that are seeking out more help.
And I think that’s shifting, like I said, too, a lot of things are shifting. But I mainly work with women who are stuck in, I would say like an energy depletion. They’re so fatigued and they can’t figure out what’s going on with their body, whether that’s hormones, thyroid, adrenal, gut. Those are the main things that I work with, and mindset – that health piece we talked about with stress and anxiety.
That’s the ideal person that’s coming to see me, is that they’re in this place, they’re so tired. Seeing a bunch of other people and they don’t know what the hell is going on. They need someone to dive deeper and really look at it.
If someone’s coming to see me, I’m not a hand-holder. I put what person needs to really be stepping forward and want to do the work. If they’re not going to do the work, then I’m definitely not a good fit because I challenge people.
One, I challenge them emotionally. Two, I challenge them physically. And three, I’m going to make them do the work, whether that’s journaling, meditation. Because the only way you can shift and move your health forward is if you take control.
[00:39:14] Detective Ev: Yeah. I love that you mentioned that, and I hope people take it to heart because there’s a huge difference.
This is my theory, at least from having worked with individuals or just seeing tons of individuals over the last eight years. There’s a difference between consulting and coaching. There’s also a difference between like what I might need coaching for versus consulting for. I never really needed coaching for the eating stuff.
I was very dedicated to that. I wanted to be told what to do. But I just said in this podcast alone, I have an NLP coach right now. That’s because Evan Transue’s not so good at doing consulting work for emotional stuff. I kind of find a way to make the excuse or whatever. And that’s okay guys. I don’t think anyone out there is so tough minded, maybe a few superstars, but so tough minded as to be able to apply advice that’s given to them instantly in every single category of our life.
Some are going to be easier than not. You just have to know yourself. I know for me; I need a coach with the emotional stuff. I need some handholding. I need someone to hop on a call with me every week and give me a nice message or have access to them all the time. It helps. But for other things, that’s not the case.
And for many people, yeah, they’re at the end of their line. They already have done so much work, but yeah. So, you just want to know what can I do? What’s intelligent? Please help me, that would be great.
If what Dr. Lulu said resonates with you at all, you’re like, you know what, no, I am someone that’s ready to kind of just do the work and I just need to know what to do. What is everything that you offer? Let’s go through all that stuff.
Programs Provided
[00:40:35] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Well, I think that’s a lot. I don’t know if we have quite enough time for that. But I think if we’re talking about specifically, I’ll just talk about my niches, so to speak. So one, I work with hormones. I help women really rediscover what the heck’s going on with her hormones, especially in that stage, perimenopause and menopause or cycling and fertility. Those are my, go-tos where I help women with that.
Then thyroid. I work with tons of patients with thyroid because what I find is when they come and see me, they haven’t had the proper testing done, they haven’t looked at the nutrition, and they don’t have the tools to help their thyroid function.
And so many women are put on medication to depress and suppress the thyroid. It’s unbelievable. I think we’re in a huge epidemic for that. I’ve worked with patients, women to help get off of that medication, to help them move into place of natural substitution, and then help their thyroid be functioning amazing.
Three, I work with genetics and genetic detox. I help patients clean out that system – the toxins around us, help the body to function fully and in an amazing environment.
Gut, that’s the other one. I worked with tons of gut restoration is my other big go-to. I work with patients on that gut-brain connection because people have tuned out. They’ve cut their head off; they don’t know what’s going on. So, I work with IBS, constipation, diarrhea, those types of things, leaky gut, especially cause it’s all connected to the adrenal system.
If that kind of sums it up in my little niches, so to speak. I’m really helping from that hormonal perspective, helping to recharge the body, helping ignite that system with in-patients. And those are the patients that seek me out.
[00:42:07] Detective Ev: Generally speaking, I think people like to know, they want to have an idea of what’s going to happen. Right. If I do contact Dr. Lulu, how does this actually work? Let’s say I come to you, the thyroid issues and yes, I’m on Synthroid or whatever. How is this probably going to go?
[00:42:20] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Right. Exactly. My first office visit is two hours and I separate it because it’s exhausting. I found for patients to be with me for that long cause I’m so intense, in a good way but asking so many questions. I love diving deep in. So, the first one where we’re like getting all the data together, gathering it together, seeing how that’s going to work.
Then we’ll most of the time, especially if it’s thyroid, I’ll do some more extensive testing. We do the testing; we get the results. Then on that second visit, we analyze those results together as a team, figure out that plan together, and then move forward, whether it’s seeing me more extensively one-on-one or in a program.
And in that in-between time, like I mentioned, I put them on a detox program. Over those weeks between, cause it usually takes a couple of weeks to get functional medicine lab work back, then they’re detoxing. They’re already starting to feel better. Lots of times people forget what was happening in their body. They’re like, oh, I forgot I had diarrhea. Well maybe not diarrhea. Well, I’ve forgot I had something.
[00:43:17] Dr. Lulu Shimek: So that first initial visit really allows me also the time to go back a year later and say, hey, remember when you had this, this, this, and this, all this has gone, you know? So that’s what that first visit looks like.
And then we create an amazing plan together to help them actually feel better. What would that look like?
[00:43:34] Detective Ev: There’s so many points that I could focus on, and I know we are limited on time. But I do like to bring this stuff up because I always tell people that healing takes time. And someone would sometimes maybe wonder, how could you possibly not notice that all these things are gone?
It’s like, guys, it’s the same way that you didn’t really notice it creeping up. You know, it does, it takes a while generally speaking to get sick. It takes much less time to get well when you’re working with the right person, but it’s still, it’s not overnight. If it was overnight, that would be amazing. But we’re just not there yet. It’s going to take the time for the body to heal a little bit. Yeah, you kind of forget sometimes how bad you did feel. I know I try to constantly be in a state of gratitude for that. I remember like, wow, dude, at 18 you really could barely even work 30 hours a week. You were 18 and you couldn’t handle that.
Now not that I recommend it, but I’m passionate. I can put in 60, 70-hour weeks if I want to and it doesn’t even feel like work. So that’s another aspect I should mention. The fact that I can handle that energy-wise eight years later, it’s like, I should be getting worse, that’s what society would tell me at least. But I’m actually getting better because I’m getting even healthier.
Book: Detox, Nourish, & Activate
Cool. Before we shout out where people can find you, I definitely wanted to shout out the book as well. So, let’s talk about that real quick. This is a thick book, guys. I wrote a book. It ain’t like that.
So let’s talk about what this is about and who it’s for.
[00:44:45] Dr. Lulu Shimek: This book is called Detox, Nourish, and Activate. And the first three letters, are DNA. It’s all about the DNA. And it’s plants and vibrational medicine for energy, mood, and love. Those three subjects are energy – the adrenal system, mood – the brain and nervous system, and love – the cardiovascular system.
The book goes into those three specific modalities using interventions, herbs, aroma therapy, crystals, meditation, mantras, affirmations, all of those things to help activate the body, detox the body, and nourish the body on those three systems. Those are all connected. Those are the main ones that the coauthor and I decided that the book should address because everybody’s wanting to shift and change their brain and how the nervous system communicate. And the heart, we need to open the heart, and then the energy from the adrenal system.
The book is really for someone who’s ready to take things to the next level and feels stuck in where they’re at and wants to make change. Because we guide you through the whole book. It’s got how’s the abundance in your life? How’s your grief? How is your energy? How’s your trauma? How’s your family tree?
I mean, it’s really goes deep into all the aspects of physical, emotional, spiritual aspects of the body.
Where to Find Dr. Lulu
[00:45:53] Detective Ev: Amazing. Cool. Well, where can people find you? If they’re like, hey, I want to work with her or at least buy the book or check out the podcasts, where would be the best place for them to go?
[00:46:00] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Sure. Yeah.
Well, Instagram is a great way. It’s drlulushimek. S H I M E K. Because on that, you can tap my bio, and everything is on there. That’s a really easy way to find me. But you can also go to my website, which is doclulu.com. Doc Lulu, like “what’s up doc.” And everything is there too. So, it’s got programs. Then I have lots of free stuff because I empower my patients to take charge of their own health.
There’s webinars and guides, things to help you really focus and feel good about yourself.
Magic Wand -Meditation
[00:46:29] Detective Ev: Cool. Well, that time flew by, but I want to finish up with one more thing. This is the signature question on the Health Detective Podcast. I always have to word this correctly because any good functional or natural practitioner knows that there’s bio- individuality out there.
With that said, if Dr. Lulu got a magic wand, we gave you one, and you can get every single person in this world to do one thing for their health or get them to stop doing one thing. What’s the one thing you’d get them to do?
[00:46:55] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Meditation, hands down. No, there’s no other thing that can shift your life as much as meditation, because you’re really going inward, listening to yourself, discovering about yourself, and calming the entire body. When we’re in that place of rest and peace, we can see unimaginable change.
[00:47:14] Detective Ev: Right. Dr. Lulu, thanks so much for being here with us today.
[00:47:16] Dr. Lulu Shimek: Thank you so much for having me, Evan.
Conclusion
[00:47:18] Detective Ev: Thanks again to Dr. Lulu for coming on and what a great last tip to finish up. If you go to her website, doclulu.com, she definitely has a very spiritual side to her, which I do as well.
I think it’s really cool that she integrates that with her practice and helps people in that area as well. I think it’s very important to health as someone who’s kind of experienced a huge shift in that area of my life. Thank you so much for listening to yet another episode of the Health Detective Podcast by FDNthrive.
If you like this content, please consider giving us a five-star review on apple podcasts or Spotify, and or Spotify, I should say. Because for the longest time, I didn’t realize that you could leave reviews on Spotify, and we are greatly slacking there. So, any help that we can get, we appreciate it very much.
I am looking forward to talking to you guys again soon. Take care until then.
[00:48:08] Intro Voice: Thanks for tuning in to the Health Detective Podcast. If you are ready to finally work with a real health detective on your health journey so that you can get well and stay well naturally, visit us at fdnthrive.com and click the “Get Started Here” button.