Healing Crohn’s: From Patient to Functional Nutritionist

In this episode, we sit down with Alexa Federico, a functional nutritionist and advocate who shares her inspiring journey with Crohn’s disease. Diagnosed at just 12 years old, Alexa faced the challenges of medical gaslighting, dietary changes, and managing a chronic illness while navigating her teenage years. She opens up about how these experiences shaped her career and fueled her passion to support others living with autoimmune and chronic conditions.

We explore the difficulties of getting an IBD diagnosis, the transformative power of functional nutrition, and the emotional toll chronic illnesses can take. Alexa shares practical tools and strategies that anyone can use to start their healing journey—from dietary adjustments to stress management techniques. If you or someone you love is navigating Crohn’s disease or another chronic condition, this episode is packed with actionable advice and hope for healing.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Alexa’s journey from childhood diagnosis to becoming a functional nutritionist.
• The impact of Crohn’s disease on emotional and physical health.
• Why medical gaslighting is so common for chronic illness patients—and how to advocate for yourself.
• Key dietary strategies for healing IBD, including Paleo, AIP, and GAPS diets.
• How supplements and lifestyle changes can support Crohn’s symptom management.
• The importance of community and finding the right health advocates.

Key Takeaways:

• Healing isn’t linear, but small wins along the way can build momentum.
• Chronic illness requires a personalized, multifaceted approach to healing.
• Building a supportive healthcare team is essential for long-term success.

Resources Mentioned:

• Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) Diet
• GAPS Diet Overview

FAQ:

• What are common Crohn’s disease symptoms? Fatigue, weight loss, abdominal pain, and joint pain are frequent indicators.
• What is the best diet for Crohn’s disease? Diets like Paleo, AIP, or GAPS focus on whole, anti-inflammatory foods and can be very helpful.
• How can I manage Crohn’s symptoms naturally? Functional nutrition, targeted supplements, and stress management techniques can all play a role in symptom relief.

Connect with Alexa Federico:

• Instagram
• Website

Connect with Rebel Health Collective

• Facebook: Rebel Health Collective
• Instagram: @rebelhealthcollective
• Substack Blog

**Disclaimer: Please remember that the topics and information discussed in this podcast are for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider or medical professional before making any changes to your health regimen or implementing any new treatments. Your health journey is unique, and it’s important to work with your trusted healthcare team to determine what’s best for you.**

Transcript

Josh Bostick (00:00)
hey, Alexa, thank you for joining us today. Really excited to have you and hear your story. You've got a unique background, which has kind of driven you to your profession and the support that you're giving people today. So I'm really excited to get into your story and then as well how you're helping others. So I will turn it over to you if you want to give us an understanding of your background and I guess really who you are.

Alexa Federico (00:23)
Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, Josh. So my story goes back many years. It's been about 18 years now since I got on the health journey. And I had a pretty unremarkable childhood in terms of health and injuries. I had nothing out of the ordinary. And it seemed to come on suddenly. Of course, this must have been building for a while. But I started getting symptoms of what I found out a few months later to be Crohn's disease.

So as someone who never had digestive troubles before, I was starting to be reactive to a lot of foods, lots of belly aches, night sweats, fevers. And so, of course, I had a pediatrician at the time. I was 12 years old. So my mom would take me to the doctor and we got brushed off quite a few times as these things were just normal and nothing to worry about. But eventually it got too.

too obvious and I was really getting sick and losing a lot of weight. So eventually I got that Crohn's diagnosis and at the time it was moderate to severe. So when you get an inflammatory bowel disease, which is chronic gut condition, you'll get a diagnosis that will say, moderate, moderate to severe, severe, and mine was moderate to severe throughout my entire GI tract. So it had definitely progressed over time when it wasn't being addressed.

And so I spent several years, on healing and trying to find what I always call like the secret sauce, what was really good for me. And I dabbled in a little bit of some of the conventional medications, some oral medications. And I didn't find that they did a ton for me. I think in the beginning they did, I was on some steroids, which is also very typical to help calm down the inflammation.

And

also kept going into flares though, over the next year to year and a half and being hospitalized, they were getting that bad. So my mom and dad being the great advocates they were for me, had this hunch that what I was eating had to have some role in how I was feeling. They, again, were getting brushed off saying food really doesn't have a big role in this. And I dietary advice that would say, you know, maybe get the lactose free milk at the store.

stick to white bread and things that aren't too fibrous and you should be fine. And that clearly wasn't working for me. And they eventually found through a family referral actually a more functionally minded physician. And so we took the chance, it was really hard to get appointments with, took the chance to meet with him and left really hopeful, but also this was a whole new world we were being introduced to. Like we were not.

We were like fairly healthy as a family, but definitely not holistically minded or crunchy or anything like that. So we were like, what is this? I have to take out all these foods. I'm going to start taking supplements. It was definitely a whole new adventure we were embarking on. But that doctor was absolutely incredible. And I worked with him until he retired a few years ago. would say he saved my life because I really feel like he did. And he was my inspiration to eventually become

functional nutritionist, which is what I do now, and help the same population of people discover the various tools and choices that are in their control that can help them to feel better and heal.

Josh Bostick (03:32)
That's awesome. And I just from that, have so many questions off the bat. When you got the Crohn's diagnosis, did that come from? Was that from your pediatrician or was that from a specialist somewhere know, the pediatrician wasn't hearing your concerns and taking them to heart. So you went somewhere else. How did that unfold?

Alexa Federico (03:49)
Yes, so the last time we went to my pediatrician when I was very, very sick, the doctor we saw that time said, this is quite significant. I'm referring you to a pediatric gastroenterologist. So we went to that GI specialist right away and he took a look at me and said, you need to be hospitalized right now. And so I was admitted that day after seeing him and then was in the hospital for almost two weeks.

healing, getting IV fluids, doing all the tests to confirm diagnosis. But yes, I was referred to a specialist. So yeah, compared to the pediatric office who kept brushing it off as it was nothing, and then getting that from the GI specialist, you know, all the alarm bells going off like, like you should have been here a long time ago. It was quite a big difference.

Josh Bostick (04:30)
Yeah, and that's one of the things that just blows my mind sometimes is how just one doctor can have one opinion, think one way, and then another one can take a look at you and be like, my gosh, something is very wrong. I've had that experience myself. So I was wondering how that unfolded for you. And one other thing is when kids, get

diagnosed with something like this, know, type one diabetes, something that just changes their world. How did that affect you at 12? I mean, obviously you're a kid, you wanna have candy, you wanna go to sleepovers and have the Cokes and the popcorn and that kind of stuff. were you able to, you know, adhere to what you needed to do or was that a struggle?

Alexa Federico (05:08)
Great question. I adhered pretty well, but it was also a struggle. Once I began that more holistic route and changing my diet, it was very drastic. You know, I ate like any other kid and I dragged my feet. I resented the experience for several years. It wasn't until I was like a much older teenager that I started to really appreciate this experience and what I knew about food and how it impacted my body. But definitely from that.

like 12, 13 and, you know, into high school, I would say there was a lot of resentment of, you know, why do I have to eat differently? Like there was a big emphasis on the food alone. I want to eat all the fun stuff. This, this is not fun that I have to be the one not eating the pizza or whatever it was. And then there was also a component of no one else my age has to think this much about their health or feels these things in their bodies. They're all just having fun. You know, we were in middle school. So it's like,

such a fun time to make your friend groups and you're finding out who you are and all that good stuff. And I definitely felt the weight of I have these seeming adult responsibilities on my shoulders and I shouldn't have to go through this right now. So it was a little tough emotionally and definitely the food part really, really brought me down a lot. So it was a back and forth thing. There'd be times where.

my parents, so nice of them, would put out my supplements for the day on the table and I would kind of have an attitude about taking them and I'd be like, I don't wanna take them today. And they were honestly great. They were like, okay, take as much time as you want or don't take them. But I always did take them and I always stuck to the diet or mostly because I knew it made me feel better and I just didn't want to get back to that place I was originally. Like that was the worst case scenario. So I did it, but I did it begrudgingly for sure.

Josh Bostick (06:54)
Yeah, when you know what rock bottom feels like, it's easy to want to stay away from that. Even a 12 year old, I guess.

Alexa Federico (07:01)
Yeah, it was that impactful.

Josh Bostick (07:03)
Yeah, that's a really hard time where, you know, if you're diagnosed with something like two or three or four, like that's all you've ever known. your memory kind of starts back at that time. But at 12, especially middle school, you're carefree. You're like you said, you're learning all these things, making new friends, doing sports and all that. But that's a that's a big weight to bear. And it sounds like you had really supportive parents throughout it, though. So that's awesome.

Alexa Federico (07:25)
Yeah, they were great.

Josh Bostick (07:26)
Very cool. so did you go to school to be the functional nutrition or tell us your journey, once you kind of got out of high school and all of that.

Alexa Federico (07:36)
Yeah, so I was someone who knew what they wanted to do at a very young age. I was always going to be a teacher, an elementary teacher. I think I had some great teachers and they just made me adore school. I'd be always playing school at home, forcing everyone to be my students. Like I was going to be the teacher. So that was my plan. And I went to school, got my degree and licensure in state of Massachusetts. And then my senior year, when you do your student teaching, I had a class of fifth graders.

all to myself for two weeks. I planned the lessons, I managed the noise level, I did the whole thing. college was a little bit of a tricky time. I think there was a lot of factors, stress, not the best food, drinking. So I definitely had some bumps in the road in college and I was going through a little bit of a flare up during my student teaching. And I remember getting kind of immediately triggered, like my GI system would get triggered if...

I felt like I had to raise my voice or I was getting stressed being the teacher. I basically got a stomach ache. Like I'd get abdominal cramping right away. And not to mention I'd come home and be so fatigued and it would just take a lot out of me. And I just remember thinking, if this was my real classroom one year from now and I had no AIDS and like no help, I'd be really struggling. And I would love the work, but I would be miserable because this is just not lining up for where I am in my health. So I made the decision, which was...

It's just so like an outer body thing to do because I thought I had my life lined up, but I made the decision not to get my master's or pursue a teaching role the following year after graduation. And I just took a little time off. And I had already been on Instagram just for fun posting about food and Crohn's and health. And I had a blog as well. So I was, I was kind of doing the social media thing as a hobby. And I took the year off and was a nanny and I ended up coming across another nutritionist who

had gone through the program I chose to go through. And she had a phone call with me and I was like, this is exactly how I already view health and how I eat. Like this program was a perfect match. So I enrolled during the next session and it was like a nine month certification, the NTA. And it was a great fit. And then I was just like, all right, I guess I have this online platform already. I'm going to start taking clients with what I know.

market myself to the IBD and autoimmune and chronic health community, because that's what I know and that's who I want to help. And so I kind of fell into it that way.

Josh Bostick (10:00)
Gotcha. Nice.

we were chatting earlier before we started recording. And I think it's so powerful when someone comes from that community. it's not that you saw a need necessarily and jumped into that space, but you're a part of it. You grew up in it. You've been in it for 18 years, you said. So I think it's really cool that you're able to relate to your clients and work with them in that sense, where when they say that they're having a flare up, you know what that means. You can relate to the pain and

the workplace struggles, the family struggles, the day-to-day struggles. That community and connection is super, super important.

Alexa Federico (10:34)
for sure, and especially for a community that has not had an easy time getting diagnosed. There's a lot of medical gaslighting that's experienced or simply just like a delayed diagnosis, not feeling heard. It's often an invisible condition, unless you lost a lot of weight, no one can really tell what you're going through. So there's definitely a lot of feelings of not being seen or heard in isolation with IBD and similar conditions. So it's definitely something I hear a lot.

Like you're the first person I've talked to that has this or that gets it. Something I tell people who are wanting to go down this route who also have the condition because sometimes people reach out and ask how they can get into it as well. I always tell them and I think it's really interesting that no one reaches out and says, oh, I saw that you were an FNTP. Like I saw this is all your credentials. It's always, oh, I saw you have this and you work with this community. I want someone who knows what I'm going through.

That is definitely a huge connection piece and I'm grateful to have it because it does help me help my clients a lot better.

Josh Bostick (11:35)
Yeah, I think that's why so many people are turning to more so the coaches and the life coaches and the people that are going through the similar struggle where, sure, maybe they didn't go to school for seven years, but they've lived with it for 25. And they know that and can connect and relate. So I can totally see why people would reach out to you in that sense.

Alexa Federico (11:54)
Yeah, it's a great start for us. I'll just say too, had a client or she's a current client and she is working right now with a team at a pretty well known medical clinic. And they told her that she would never get her bowel movements down from she was having like five to six a day, like not very well controlled. And

about two weeks into working with me, they were already cut in half. She was about one to three. And this is like a little bit off topic, but it's part yes, me knowing what she's going through and part the nutritionist and me knowing what she needs. But it is the whole point of looking towards coaches who are looking at things in just a slightly different lens sometimes. Like I saw this gap of what she needed or what she wasn't, really fulfilling in her.

day-to-day lifestyle that could help that need and it worked. And I think people are realizing that one provider, one type of practitioner just is not going to get you all the way through your health journey. Everyone has different expertises and kind of like hiring out who you need to fill certain needs is kind of the best way to do things at this point.

Josh Bostick (12:58)
It is, yeah. And think one part of that is there's so many chronic illnesses and diseases going on in the world right now, where, you mentioned earlier that one of the ways that someone could get diagnosed with Crohn's is the weight loss. That's a telltale sign for diabetes, too. You know, it's like all of the symptoms that are out there, they're all so overlapping that it's like, what the heck could it be? You're kind of throwing a dart at the wall, seeing what it might be. so.

Alexa Federico (13:13)
Yeah.

Josh Bostick (13:23)
when you can have someone who's actually going through it and reach out to them and get their experience, you start really getting into more symptoms than you even know about as well. So it's not just the fatigue and the weight loss, that kind of stuff. There's more under the top of it, guess, that you can really uncover.

Alexa Federico (13:40)
Yes, yeah, there's always layers for sure.

Josh Bostick (13:44)
And so let's talk a little bit about Crohn's disease. Other than knowing that it is associated with IBD, that's my knowledge. I don't have much more than that. So what are some of the symptoms and some of those underground symptoms like we were talking about, other than just the weight loss and fatigue, because it seems like that kind of is a catch-all for everything these days. So some of the things that when you work with a client for the first time and you're trying to see if it truly is something that they may be dealing with that you look for?

Alexa Federico (14:12)
Yeah, that's a great question. there are GI specific symptoms and there are some that are non GI specific. Weight loss and fatigue are definitely big ones. And then abnormal bowel patterns. So loose stool is very common. There's a smaller percentage that do get more constipated though. So definitely have to keep like an open lens when thinking about what it could be because it can be both. But typically loose stool, you tend to have a lot of trigger foods.

Like you can feel yourself being reactive, not being able to tolerate a lot of foods, even things that tend to be categorized as healthy.

Josh Bostick (14:45)
And

how quickly do those trigger feeds come on?

Alexa Federico (14:48)
It varies. There are definitely immediate reactions, right as you're eating it or than 30 minutes an hour. But something that's a little tricky with IBD2 is that there can be these delayed reactions a couple days, even up to a week I've seen. And I don't really have an explanation of why it's taking that long for the body to react. But I've seen it myself. I've seen it in so many clients that something even five days ago that they ate or that was stressful is having this ripple effect days later.

So that can make it a little challenging to find out trigger foods, because it's hard to pinpoint it when it's not immediate. But that's still why food journaling and symptom tracking is really helpful. Some interesting symptoms that are not GI ones are joint pain. When I was diagnosed, I had a good amount of joint pain in my knees. Mouth sores is another one.

Those are the biggies. Loose stool, joint pain, mouth sores, the fatigue, and food triggers, like low food tolerance, I would say, are the biggest ones. Sometimes people have nausea, vomiting, sometimes reflux, like other GI things. But those are pretty much the biggies.

Josh Bostick (15:54)
Okay.

Gotcha. when you're having, that immediate reaction. Is that like abdominal cramping or is it just like a, got to find the nearest bathroom ASAP.

Alexa Federico (16:06)
It could be either or both. Yeah, sometimes it's like, just have to run to the bathroom. And sometimes it's like just an onset of, yeah, abdominal pain, grumbling, cramping, or it could be both. Everyone's different. And I always say one person with IBD is one person with IBD. although the symptoms overlap, it's how they present themselves and manifest really can vary a lot.

Josh Bostick (16:28)
Gotcha. Okay. Yeah. I mean, that makes sense. Every everybody's different and everybody's body operates on a different realm for sure. And is there something that triggers IBD or Crohn's to kick off? You know, like for me, I have antibodies with type one diabetes. So at some point something triggered the antibodies to turn on and now they attack my pancreas. No beta cells, no insulin. Here I am. What about with IBD?

Is there a trigger or is it just something that is built in our DNA that gets flared up eventually?

Alexa Federico (17:00)
So there's no one known trigger, but it can be a multitude of things. So there is a genetic component, but again, with any chronic condition, it's not always guaranteed that you'll definitely have it, but it is there. I personally do have IBD on both sides of my family, which is interesting. But typically it's stressors of some kind. That's a big category. I've talked to a lot of people who right before their diagnosis,

Josh Bostick (17:05)
Okay.

Alexa Federico (17:23)
had a death in the family or they were traveling and got some kind of bug and it kind of snowballed into getting an IBD diagnosis. For women, sometimes giving birth has triggered IBD, the stress, although birth is wonderful, it's also stressful and traumatic on the body, it's a really big deal. And sometimes that's enough to have IBD be expressed. So those are the biggest ones. Of course, I mean, I believe, I shouldn't say of course.

other environmental things, I think food can add to the load, the stressful load that can trigger the expression of IBD. there's a lot of things in our food today that are unnatural. And I think it just adds to our toxic load that can just spill over eventually and, you know, disease manifests. So I think there's really big umbrella of things that can drive the, IBD to be expressed.

I've never pinpointed personally what mine was. Again, I felt like I had an unremarkable childhood. So was like, I've always thought about this. What could I be? There's also a huge component or I guess phenomenon of adverse childhood events. And there's a strong link of chronic and autoimmune illnesses for people who have had traumatic, stressful events as children. And I'm not in that camp, fortunately. So I've always been like, okay, that's not it. What was it for me?

So it can be a common, I think most people it's a combination, know, infections, heavy metals, mold exposure. I believe all of those can play a role in IBD.

Josh Bostick (18:52)
Yeah. And talking with everyone that's come on the podcast, seems like that's kind of the scenario where, there's not a, this is it, but it could be mold. It could be where you're living. It could be water. could be trauma. Like you mentioned, it's just not really a one size fits all. One question I do have though is with COVID, have you seen an increase in IBD or have there been any studies or statistics out there?

Alexa Federico (19:18)
Um, so I haven't seen, it hasn't affected my practice. I don't really have any anecdotal.

Josh Bostick (19:25)
Okay, you haven't seen like

a big take up or anything. Okay, because in the type one community, I mean, a lot of the type one diagnoses are given to adolescents, so younger kids. And the thought was normally that it was triggered by some sort of a virus chickenpox, mono is a big one, something like that. But since COVID, there's been a lot of people like myself that have been diagnosed with type one, and that like 25 to 40 age range, which

Alexa Federico (19:42)
Yep.

Josh Bostick (19:53)
wasn't necessarily super common. It might've been some with just the thought that it was all kids for type 1. And a lot of people were getting misdiagnosis type 2, You mentioned that a virus could do it. So was wondering if you guys had seen an uptick, but nothing that sticks out right away.

Alexa Federico (20:09)
Yeah,

nothing that sticks out right away. that is exactly the type of thing that I could see triggering IBD though. So I for sure believe there are probably lots of cases that started following getting sick with COVID.

Josh Bostick (20:22)
Yeah, that first variant is the one that I got in. It knocked me on my butt about a week and a half could not do anything or get out of bed. Well, thank you for the rundown on that. I learned a lot. I honestly, I've heard of it. New was kind of under that IBD umbrella, but did not know many specifics on it. And so for those listening and the thing and hey, that kind of aligns with me. What are some of like the things that you are?

Alexa Federico (20:24)
Hmm.

Of course.

Josh Bostick (20:48)
working with your clients on. mean, you mentioned that you had previously taken some of just the normal over-the-counter medications and stuff like that, but it sounds like you're on a much more functional, holistic route now.

Alexa Federico (21:01)
Yes, that is true. I kind of have these three pillars that I use for myself and my clients, diet, nutrition, supplementation, and then lifestyle, which is a very big umbrella. So I use the same approach with my clients. So diet, I say a really great template if you're starting to navigate diet changes on your own is the Paleo diet. And then we were speaking earlier about AIP, which is a more refined version of Paleo. So that's an option, but I say in general, Paleo is a great template that removes a lot of the

modern foods, know, the sugar-laden foods, a lot of the stuff we just don't need, especially if you're on a healing journey, you want to remove anything potentially triggering. think Paleo, as well as AIP, are great templates, really focusing on the whole foods. And for people who are starting out and they're in an active flair, you know, their gut's a mess, they need the bathroom all the time, foods are triggering them left and right. This is more gaps diet leaning, but lots of broth and simple meat.

as well as really soft veggies is like the most basic healing diet ever. So that's a really good place to start if your gut feels very triggered by everything you're eating. Yeah. Yes. Yes. yeah. That's another healing diet and elimination diet to explore originally created for autism and other other like similar diagnoses.

Josh Bostick (22:04)
Sorry, was that gaps like GAPS? Okay, that's the first I've heard of that.

Alexa Federico (22:21)
It stands for gut and psychology syndrome. so was designed, Natasha is her name. I'm her last name right now. But yeah, there's a book. She wrote a book on it and there are different phases and the very basic intro phase. It's all about the gut mind connection. So how does gut health affect a condition like autism or something similar, but it works great for digestive conditions as well. And that intro phase is lots of broth.

which has lots of healing amino acids for the gut lining and meat, especially slow cooked meats that are broken down over a bit of time that makes it easier to digest. So I always direct people on those couple of foods if they're really struggling. And then the lifestyle piece is huge. I mean, we can talk about so many things under there, but optimizing sleep and really having some good stress management strategies. Someone who's been on this chronic health journey is probably in survival mode.

Their body hasn't been operating as normal. there's a big disconnection between them and their body. Again, they may have had that not so great medical experience. So they feel like, who can I trust? No one knows what's going on. There's a lot of dysregulation there. So a lot of nervous system, nourishment, a lot of stress management, optimizing sleep, just establishing that safety is really, important. That definitely takes time. It's not just like a checklist thing that you can do.

And then I also use supplements as well. I typically use three to six supplements, but things that are really intentional and targeted for what someone needs. with gut health, I break that down into three categories, digestive aids, healing supports, and then nutrient support. So big on digestive enzymes and bitters and things that help to break down our food, the healing supports. I put like different herbals.

curcumin and aloe and marshmallow root, things that have been shown to be really good for gut health, as well as probiotics. then nutrient supports are just supporting any nutrient deficiency. Iron deficiency is super common with gut issues due to blood loss and malabsorption. know, beef liver is a great source of iron. So I love using beef liver capsules or multivitamins, things like that. So taking kind of a very targeted approach with supplements can help to speed up healing.

And just be really helpful for someone whose absorption is not 100 % and they're not getting everything they need from food.

Josh Bostick (24:38)
that kind of kickstart will definitely help. And do do blood work to see some of those deficiencies?

Alexa Federico (24:45)
I do. I order some pretty standard blood work. I do take a whole kind of body approach. So, you know, I order like a moderate size blood work for my clients when they start and then I work with them for three months. We do another set towards the end. But yeah, I'm especially interested in immune markers and inflammation. And then if needed, sometimes I'll order stool tests as well to look a little further into some issues.

Josh Bostick (25:09)
Yep, done a couple of those in my time and those provide a lot of information, especially about the gut. Mine was jacked up. Yeah, it was basically like just red flag, red flag, red flag all the way down. And yeah, my doctor's kind of like, we're going to have some fun. We've got a long journey ahead of us. Yeah.

Alexa Federico (25:10)
Yeah.

Exactly, they're great. man.

Yeah.

Yep, the works cut out. That's a good thing

about that. It's like, all right, at least we have answers. We have some direction, something to work on.

Josh Bostick (25:32)
Yeah, and I mean, that was honestly more exciting than it was overwhelming to go in and be like, there are things wrong. Like things are actually outside of where they should be. And especially with functional medicine, you have, like the you're in a lot of trouble. Things are like, you know, pretty bad. They're getting bad. And then they're like, there's the optimal range. And so I was on just like the, are you still alive for a lot of them? But yeah, there's a go ahead.

Alexa Federico (25:39)
Yeah.

Yeah. I'm sure Tess is

much better. If you haven't redone it, I'm sure it's full of green flags now. Yeah.

Josh Bostick (26:03)
Yes, yeah. Yeah, we

went, I think it was like five or six months and came back and most everything was in the optimal range. And if it wasn't an optimal is definitely moving into where it needed to be. yeah, it's so weird how much hope there was in seeing like, hey, there are things wrong with me. know, it's not like you're getting a palm reading or something and they're saying that your intestines messed up. Like it's blood work that, is tried and proven.

just not regularly used, I guess.

Alexa Federico (26:31)
Absolutely, yeah, not used enough and it's super validating. Yeah, to see like, okay, there was something going on. Now we have direction to work on.

Josh Bostick (26:39)
Yeah, and once you get that validation,

it helps a lot with doing the hard things and changing your diet. And it's like, okay, we figured out what's wrong and this is what I can do to feel better. And especially when you're at that rock bottom, like you mentioned, it's a lot easier to take those steps and incorporate them.

Alexa Federico (26:55)
Right, yeah, gives you your why.

Josh Bostick (26:58)
Exactly. Yeah.

And then you pair that in with starting to feel better, being able to get on the floor to play with your kid, go on walks with your family, you know, do better at work, all that kind of stuff. just you got to stick with it for a little bit and it'll just start snowballing to improving your daily life.

Alexa Federico (27:05)
Yes.

Exactly, that those little wins is actually something when people ask where should they start, I tell them the diet piece and adding in some, you know, two or three intentional supplements. Even though stress management and nervous system is as important and so needed for the rest of healing to take place, some would say that's the most important part of healing. But from my perspective, diet changes will get you quicker.

turnaround, quicker wins. And so I'm kind of always working on a few things at once with my clients, but for sure we're starting with diet because I know when I see them in two weeks, they're going to see improvement and they're going to, they're going to have that hope because they're going to come back in two weeks and say, this symptom started, you know, I used to have it 10 times a day. Now it's seven. It's getting a little better. And when they get that win under their belt, it kicks us that motivation, the faith that more healing is possible if that much healing could happen in two weeks. So

Yeah, all about picking up small wins along the way and just kind of building on and yeah, the motivation kind of just builds itself as you go.

Josh Bostick (28:17)
It does. And those small wins, they they build a mindset shift where you start eating these good foods, you know, organic foods, whole foods. You see stuff come out of a wrapper like you see a pop tart. You're just like, I don't want to eat that. that just doesn't even sound good. Where, you know, a year ago, holy crap, give me 10 of them. And it's just it's weird. when you'd rather have a bowl full of Greek yogurt and fruit than,

some kind of breakfast cereal or something like that.

Alexa Federico (28:45)
Yeah, that's so relatable. Your perspective on food changes and your taste buds change too. Something like that Pop-Tart would be so sweet and to me, like fake tasting, like, I can taste all the flavors in here that aren't natural. And yeah, it's funny how that happens. And it's like, who am I? used to, I'd go crazy over that for.

Josh Bostick (28:50)
They do.

Yeah, my mom actually had that exact experience. She did a diet revamp and was all organic. was kind of, I guess it was the paleo pretty much. mean, she was pretty, not strictly, but she was pretty much doing paleo and probably three or four months after she started, they were at an airport. It was like 10 30 at night. All the restaurants were closed. They were just kind of like those little convenience stores. So she went in and got, Lay's chips or something, which she'd normally loved. She ate some and she's like,

these are terrible. Like something like this bag is bad. So she went back and got like Doritos or something. And she goes, these are also bad. And then she realized, I just I don't like these anymore. And she was so mind blown by that. She was like, I thought all this time that you know, is me and my motivation not wanting those things. But she goes, it's just not something that I crave anymore. My taste buds have just changed. And I thought that was so cool that you really can change things like that.

Alexa Federico (29:54)
Love that.

Yeah, I love hearing that. That's so cool.

Josh Bostick (29:58)
Yeah, yeah,

so it is definitely possible and doesn't take that long.

Alexa Federico (30:01)
Mm-hmm.

Great, yeah, it doesn't take that long. In the grand scheme of things, things turn around quite quickly. Yeah.

Josh Bostick (30:08)
Very cool.

Well, do you have any closing tips, anything that you want the listeners to, if they haven't written it down yet, what should they put down and make sure that they take home with them?

Alexa Federico (30:21)
I would say maybe just some words of encouragement that, if you feel like something is not right in your body, follow that. Only you know how your body feels. you could have someone who is an expert tell you that there's nothing wrong, but you will know in your body. So keep pursuing answers. They're out there. There's always a reason the body does something. Nothing is by chance or random. So things just aren't that way.

Period, right? There's a whole story behind that. So just keep seeking your answers. There's gonna be seasons of higher highs and slightly lower lows when you're on it. Healing is definitely not a linear path. And sometimes when you uncover health issues, we were talking about layers, you start to get better, but then something else pops up. And it's just par for the course. So not to get too discouraged if you are feeling alone or like you're having all these peaks and valleys. Just stay committed.

to yourself and your healing journey and keep seeking out people who will do that investigative work with you and don't get discouraged if someone's telling you it's in your head or anything like that. Sure is.

Josh Bostick (31:22)
It's definitely a marathon, not a sprint.

Yep. And that last bit I think is so important. And one of the reasons I've started this is that community and reaching out and finding supportive advocates, people that have gone through it, that are willing to listen and, you know, take those extra steps. That's key. That's what's going to get you over the, over those humps. And I think just what we all need more of rather than just another pill or someone saying that it's in your head.

So very important tips and really appreciate them.

Alexa Federico (31:54)
Yeah, thank you for building this platform. always tell people who are kind of struggling, fill your space, your social media feed, things you're listening to with stories of healing. Like get inspired, surround yourself with stories that it's possible. So a platform like this is awesome for people to have their faith restored. Yeah. Of course, thanks for having me. Thank you.

Josh Bostick (32:12)
Well, thank you and thank you for being a part of it. All right, thank you.