Episode 23
Table of Contents:
In this episode:
In today’s episode we are joined by Dr. Catherine Clinton ND, amazing naturopathic physician specializing in autoimmunity and psychoneuroimmunology.
She shares with us her approach to autoimmunity, and why what you might have been told autoimmunity is, was wrong.
We talk about psychoneuroimmunology, and how creating the lacking safety signals our bodies need, we can heal.
Join us to hear no cost action steps that you can take today to jumpstart your healing, and perhaps the best part…none of them have to do with eliminating anything!
She shares with us her approach to autoimmunity, and why what you might have been told autoimmunity is, was wrong.
We talk about psychoneuroimmunology, and how creating the lacking safety signals our bodies need, we can heal.
Join us to hear no cost action steps that you can take today to jumpstart your healing, and perhaps the best part…none of them have to do with eliminating anything!
Other Resources:
Connect with Catherine Clinton, ND
Episode Transcript
Julie Michelson: Welcome back to the inspired living with auto-immunity podcast. I'm your host, Julie Michelson. And today we're joined by Dr. Catherine Clinton, amazing naturopathic physician specializing in auto-immunity and psycho neuro immunology. She shares with us her approach to auto-immunity. And why, what you might have been told auto-immunity is, was wrong.
[Page//00:00:59] Join us to [Page//00:01:00] hear no cost action steps that you can take today to jumpstart your healing, and perhaps the best part none of them have, have to do with eliminating anything.
[Page//00:01:10] Catherine. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. I'm so excited that you're here with us today.
[Page//00:01:16] Catherine Clinton: I am as well. Thank you so much for having me. I'm just so excited to talk with you about all of this stuff today.
[Page//00:01:25] Julie Michelson: Fantastic. I know our passions overlap and I always love to start with your personal journey because for the most part, we all kind of got into this world through our own personal journey. And I know you have, you have one too. So share with listeners, you know, how did you get to be doing what you're doing?
[Page//00:01:49] Catherine Clinton: Absolutely. Well, when I was in medical school, I was in my second year of naturopathic medical school. And I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis [Page//00:02:00] and autoimmune condition, which attacks the colon. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Which is another auto-immune condition that affects the thyroid gland.
[Page//00:02:11] And I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and multiple GI bacterial parasitic infections. And it, it was rough, you know, I think most of us are familiar with that kind of initiation phase that happens in medical school and that's right where I was long hours. You know, in the clinic from 7:00 AM until 7:00 PM and I just didn't have the foundation, the resilience, you know, so that stress really was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, so to speak.
[Page//00:02:44] Right. And, and I was in the perfect place for that. You know, I was surrounded by the most amazing naturopathic physicians regular MD's acupuncturists, Chinese medicine doctors, and they [Page//00:03:00] really helped me piece that. Physical health back together. And I think that's where most of us who are dealing with chronic disease and auto immune conditions rest in, right.
[Page//00:03:13] That goal of getting back to where we were before we were diagnosed or before we got ill. And I think the most profound thing for myself and my patients has been that physical piece is incredible. Once we get back to, you know, and all the pieces are back in place. We can realize that that lifestyle, that status of energy is what got us sick in the first place.
[Page//00:03:40] Right. So there's another real level. To humane sort of a psycho neuro immunology piece to it, how our thoughts play into it, how we sort of fit in the world around us. And that has been really the most amazing piece for myself [Page//00:04:00] and my patients. And so that is my story. I have reversed those auto road conditions.
[Page//00:04:07] Julie Michelson: You know,
[Page//00:04:08] Catherine Clinton: Yeah. Medication or, or anything I do need to tend to myself. And but besides that yes, I'm doing, I'm doing well and just really excited to be able to share that with everyone out there.
[Page//00:04:23] Julie Michelson: I love that. And I, I all too often with the physicians, I, I talked to. Medical school was the trigger. It's it's like, when are we going to change what we do to poor human body and mind in medical school? But I will say, I think you were the first, maybe the first one I've spoken to that. Had a sub had that support quick enough.
[Page//00:04:53] Because especially, you know, the MDs or the Dios, they didn't have those [Page//00:05:00] other, they didn't have acupuncture. They didn't have, you know, any nature paths. They didn't have that broad community that you had. That is amazing that you were able to start to heal so quickly. I always say I used to think I was so smart, but I spent over 11 years declining with RA because I believed my doctors when they said I couldn't heal.
[Page//00:05:20] And so I get really excited when I hear people that were like, you know, no, this isn't isn't going to happen. And even with like me, it wasn't just one diagnosis. It was multiple because that's, that's what tends to happen.
[Page//00:05:36] Catherine Clinton: Right, right. It's that body saying are listening? Nope. Okay. Here's another one listening.
[Page//00:05:41] Julie Michelson: I could be louder. I can get louder. So you threw out a big word and it's a word that makes me smile because it's a, I. I love the study of it. Psycho, neuro immunology. Let's talk about that. Let's, [Page//00:06:00] you know, get into some listeners might be like, what did she make that up? What is that? So let's start there.
[Page//00:06:08] Catherine Clinton: Absolutely. Let's dive into that one. Cause this is a huge word. Right. But basically what it means is the ability of our thoughts to change our biology. Right. And so what we used to think, you know, when I was in medical school, we thought that a lot of the body communicated. With chemical messages, cytokines, neuropeptides, hormones, that kind of thing.
[Page//00:06:33] Now we know that there's direct innervation right from the brain directly. Into the cells that line, the GI tract. So there is a direct instantaneous route from our brain to our gut. And that's really what psycho neuro immunology is about. It's about how those thoughts and frequencies can really, really have a profound effect on.[Page//00:07:00]
[Page//00:07:00] Our biology. You know, one of, one of my favorite studies looks at trauma and trauma has a significant impact on our biology and it, one of the most significant things that does is it shifts our microbiome from a beneficial state of microbes to a more harmful state. And. It increases because of that, it increases inflammation and intestinal permeability.
[Page//00:07:27] But this study looked at cognitive behavioral therapy being consciously changing those thought patterns and a, I think it was a 12 week session. They completely reversed that. Robo microbiomes arrangement. Right? So that shift to the more harmful species shifted back to all those beneficial species that we want in our microbiome, just through the power of changing the way we think.
[Page//00:07:59] So it's, it's [Page//00:08:00] really incredible.
[Page//00:08:02] Julie Michelson: It is B I'm covered in goosebumps. You can't see on camera, but I I'm actually. The middle of writing a presentation that we'll have early aired by the time this does on the importance of creating the healing mindset to, to facilitate healing. I, my story was took the same track as yours and that I was able to thank goodness, heal my body and.
[Page//00:08:29] First, and now in my practice, as I would imagine you use in yours as well, you know, now I'm, I flip-flop and we're going right in and let's get the mindset accelerating the healing. So I love that. I say to people, and I love watching you. You won't change expression, you may smile. But it always surprises me that people just really don't know.
[Page//00:08:53] I say, you know, the body hears every, everything you've said. Every thought you have, [Page//00:09:00] and it takes it as truth. And that's the key right there to that study. Right? Because the good news is once we become aware of that, we can give it positive. We can intentionally plant those positive thoughts and that's where I totally geek out.
[Page//00:09:21] And that's why I wanted to start with this because it is so powerful.
[Page//00:09:27] Catherine Clinton: It really, really is. And, you know, as somebody that's suffered from anxiety throughout my life on and off.
[Page//00:09:35] Julie Michelson: Tell me to shocker.
[Page//00:09:41] Catherine Clinton: And so hearing something like that can be heavy, right? Just like, oh no. Oh,
[Page//00:09:47] Julie Michelson: It's like talking about toxins and how they're everywhere and it's like, okay, no, no, no, wait, it doesn't mean it's all bad. I swear.
[Page//00:09:54] Catherine Clinton: Right because the power of a thought, a positive thought is not dependent on [Page//00:10:00] us holding that product forever. Right. It's, it's just as transient as the negative thoughts. So it's more about patterns and more about empowerment. The ability to do that a few times a day, Really routes that neurological pathway, so that those few times a day become automatic.
[Page//00:10:22] And you can add more times to the day and then you spend more time in that positive nourishing state and yes, yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
[Page//00:10:35] Julie Michelson: Yeah. And, and I learned that, I think that is so key people resist because, you know, if they're in this stress loop and they're either anxious or, you know, fatigued and. And you want me to have positive thoughts? Like that seems so foreign to so many people, but this, this knowledge we now have that you don't even have to believe it.
[Page//00:10:58] Like just start doing it [Page//00:11:00] and let it work. Its magic.
[Page//00:11:03] Catherine Clinton: Yep. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it's a wonderful thing to open up that window into a relationship with ourselves again, right. When we are chronically ill dealing with auto-immune conditions or mental health, anxiety, depression, we have a distrust of our body. And, and we get disconnect in there, right? A panic attack is not comfortable.
[Page//00:11:32] So Yeah. So opening up that window so that we can access a deeper relationship with ourselves. A sense of safety in our own body is so foundational to the health. That's what I love working with people. You know, getting that safety from ourselves, getting that safety from the world around us, because that's what our body is really looking for.
[Page//00:11:58] You know, when we talk [Page//00:12:00] about auto-immune conditions, if we were to Google it right now or internet search it, it would come up as your body attacking itself. Right. And it's, so isn't that such a misnomer and a misunderstanding. And it, it really takes that. That relates to that neurological communication of our body for granted because what's happening with auto-immune conditions.
[Page//00:12:28] To messages in our environment. Right. And if we can replace some of those danger messages from processed food, from feeling unsafe in your life. Family community where you work driving to work. I mean, there's so many places where we can get stressed toxins in our air and in our water, there's so many danger signals that are being sent to our biology.
[Page//00:12:58] And when we can replace [Page//00:13:00] those dangerous signals with something. Safety signal that our body, that our biology is really looking for whole food, clean water, clean air. Then we can start to build that safety outside of us. And that's just an amazing thing to see with myself and my family and my patients is having someone who's unwell and feeling so fundamentally unsafe, rebuild those connections with themselves and with the world around them, it's just. Passion. It's just, I can't think of anything better.
[Page//00:13:34] Julie Michelson: I share that passion. It's magical. It's I mean, it's science, but it's magical, you know, all the stuff that sounds. Ooh, it has so much science behind it. And I think the being able to use that with, at least for me being able to use that with my clients is I know, again, I know it's rooted in science, but it is magical to watch [Page//00:14:00] people blossom.
[Page//00:14:01] And it is such a natural part of autoimmunity and chronic illness. even completely without awareness or intention, get to a place where we feel like, oh, my body is my enemy, right? Like I'm in pain and I, maybe I'm not as mobile, you know? And it's, especially when we get into that cascade or it's not one diagnosis.
[Page//00:14:24] Two or three or four or five. And, and so it is so essential. I always say, you know, we, we ha you have to partner with your body because the more you're feeling, you know, again, it's hearing, it's hearing all of that. So I, I am so. That's share your passion for that. And I'm excited for your patients that that's the approach that you're taking with them.
[Page//00:14:49] I don't know how so how, how do you view, I think you already gave it to us, but, but when a patient comes to you, you know, in your [Page//00:15:00] practice, how do you view auto-immunity like, what do you, and I know I, I am pretty sure you said you already said it, but I want people to really hear. The, you know, it's a, it's a very different perspective and it's a very accurate perspective.
[Page//00:15:16] Catherine Clinton: Yeah. Yeah. I think that's where most people come to me. Right. They have been tested up the wazoo, tried their. Most likely a steroid all kind of, you know yeah, drugs and, and they're not feeling relief and they are feeling betrayed. They're feeling like their body's broken. It's not their friend anymore.
[Page//00:15:42] And so that's what I start with. I start with explaining that it is not your body attacking itself. It is your body. That it has evolved on this earth for millennia, with all kinds of different messages that are [Page//00:16:00] really literally quite literally written into our DNA. And we're searching for that when we are interacting.
[Page//00:16:07] In the world, when our microbiome is interacting in the world, we are searching for those signals to see where are we? Where's my place in the world. Am I in the right spot? Right. And so much of modern life is a dangerous. Process toxins, the chronic stress that we're under. I mean, if we look at the last two years, my goodness, right?
[Page//00:16:31] Incredible amounts of stress and fear and, and so many obstacles. Our, our modern life really sets us up for. Dangerous signals that we have not evolved with. So what I talk with my patients about is removing some of those dangerous signals and replacing them with signals of safety. So this doesn't have to be overwhelming.
[Page//00:16:56] It doesn't have to be a huge [Page//00:17:00] exclusion thing, right. Even including, even if you're in a place where you're like, I will. Try another diet thing. I will not, you know, I will not exclude another thing from my life. That's understandable. Or at the same time, I can't write, I live in an unsafe community. My workplace isn't safe.
[Page//00:17:23] I don't feel safe in the world. And, and, and very likely aren't right. So. If even if we can't remove those dangerous signals, we can pile in the safety signals so that our body is not, you know, it's like a messaging center where you're just getting like, there's a fire on four, two, there's a fi firearm 13.
[Page//00:17:47] And you know, you've got your operator go here, go there. And people are panicking and, and it's a chaotic. System where we're used to our biology is used to this orchestra [Page//00:18:00] of all of these different messages that cascade to biological action in our body. And so even just adding those in can be such a powerful thing.
[Page//00:18:11] That's where I like to start with my patients because simple. Three things that we do at home can be really life-changing and for some suffering from chronic illness. And auto-immunity having that window of hope open, it can be the most powerful thing, right. Because that's where we see our patients, right.
[Page//00:18:33] They come to us.
[Page//00:18:34] Julie Michelson: Yes.
[Page//00:18:35] Catherine Clinton: We're the last hope, you know, and it's like a last ditch effort. So, you know, okay. Let's open up that hope, but let's pilot in those safety signals and, and just see just one week of it can make a profound difference in our physiology and how we're feeling. [Page//00:19:00] So that's where I started with patients.
[Page//00:19:02] Julie Michelson: And I think that's, that's incredible and fantastic. And I, what I love the most is that you're you talked about adding in, right? Because so many people full disclosure, eventually when I work with somebody, we do eliminate certain foods. But there is such a takeaway approach for people that, you know, again, by the time people find me, it's the same, it's the same thing they show up at my doorstep.
[Page//00:19:31] Then most often there is the occasional, you know, I just got that. And it's a heck now, and I'm going to do something right now, but usually it's a, it's a journey. And yeah, it's like, you know what, Mo you know, don't take another thing away from me. So I love that add in because it is so important.
[Page//00:19:49] It's, it's wordy feeling deprived enough when we're not well, so,
[Page//00:19:53] Catherine Clinton: Absolutely. Absolutely. And we can eliminate those foods and really form those new [Page//00:20:00] connections with foods. When we feel happier, when we have
[Page//00:20:02] Julie Michelson: or have the energy to, or yeah, I had a, literally a client say to me yesterday, she had shifted from, Hey, reminded her. I'm like, you are the same. You are the same woman who said to me, you know, this is so hard. And I, you know, the processes we all go through, you know, it's so unfair that I have to eat so carefully just to.
[Page//00:20:25] Feel halfway decent. And yesterday she said to me, cause she made the shift. She said, I feel so fortunate that I get to feed my body. The things that nourish. And it was like, oh, this is awesome. It's the ship. I love it. So you mentioned, did, you mentioned amazing things. You mentioned, you know, no cost free things that people can do to get started.
[Page//00:20:53] And I always ask every guest for one thing, but you are. Ultra generous. And I know you're going to give us [Page//00:21:00] three. So what are those things? What can P you know, listeners just start doing right now?
[Page//00:21:08] Catherine Clinton: Well one of the biggest things that I think people can do is balancing our circadian rhythm. Right? So one of the things that we have evolved with one of our major safety signals is that we live on a planet that orbits the sun, right. And we live in rhythm with that sun. And so when we wake up. And we get am some light in our eyes before 10:00 AM.
[Page//00:21:35] It sets a whole cascade of hormones and neurotransmitters. We get a flood of serotonin, which gives us energy and feeling good. That same serotonin actually, when the lights are lowered in the evening, when the sun goes down, that turns into melatonin. And that's our sleep hormone. It actually has really incredible [Page//00:22:00] antimicrobial, AMU benefits as well.
[Page//00:22:03] And
[Page//00:22:04] Julie Michelson: right now.
[Page//00:22:05] Catherine Clinton: yeah, yeah, exactly. And we've got dopamine and growth hormone, all these things happening with that am sun getting a little sun in your day, also maintains.
[Page//00:22:18] Julie Michelson: Without your sunglasses on everybody.
[Page//00:22:21] Catherine Clinton: Absolutely. Absolutely. And so I'm here in Oregon and there are times when we don't see the sun for
[Page//00:22:29] Julie Michelson: Right?
[Page//00:22:30] Catherine Clinton: right. It's just this gray background and that counts.
[Page//00:22:35] Julie Michelson: Yes.
[Page//00:22:36] Catherine Clinton: Outside natural light. It can be raining and dark and dreary. If the sun just came up or it's before 10:00 AM, that's, what's going to trigger all of those things.
[Page//00:22:46] It doesn't have to be tropical, wonderful sun that you want to, you know, lay down and soak up. It's just natural light. It's being in that rhythm. And when we lower the lights at night, [Page//00:23:00] you know, watching that sun go down. Triggers another whole cascade physiologically in our body. And what I like to do is kind of make it a tradition.
[Page//00:23:11] So when the lights get lowered, like here, it's dark at five, right?
[Page//00:23:16] Julie Michelson: Yes.
[Page//00:23:18] Catherine Clinton: Well, we have to sort of adjust our inside lights to some people that doesn't throw as much blue light and quiet, light out as salt lamps. I feel really fortunate that we heat our house with a wood stove so that we can. Gathered around the fire at night, you know, that's a fun thing to do.
[Page//00:23:38] There's all kinds of different ways to turn this into a routine. So it's not this like go out and look at the assignment schedule that you must've here too. It becomes this relation. With the sun and with the rhythm of the season, that is so [Page//00:24:00] important for our biology. And I like to actually stack that with getting in contact with the earth.
[Page//00:24:08] And so, again, it's cold.
[Page//00:24:10] Julie Michelson: You stole my, I was going to say, if it's not freezing what I do every morning, When it is cold.
[Page//00:24:21] Catherine Clinton: Yeah. No, absolutely. And, and I try, I'll be honest with you. I do try to go out and be barefoot and do that in the morning as routine, my kids, especially my youngest is so good at this. She's she is our like cheerleader for her.
[Page//00:24:40] Julie Michelson: Yeah,
[Page//00:24:41] Catherine Clinton: From some mornings. I like, I am lucky to be outside moving.
[Page//00:24:46] Julie Michelson: sure.
[Page//00:24:48] Catherine Clinton: I do not want the cold on my feet and you can get that same benefit from touching a trees, sitting on the grass, touching the ground you know, touching something [Page//00:25:00] that's living, even just being outside.
[Page//00:25:03] Would you in contact with those negative ions that just enormous amount of antioxidant potential that's out there. So just even, I, you know, I would challenge people listening today to try this for four or five days a week and no. The difference. Notice the difference in your sleep and your energy and your mood.
[Page//00:25:29] Is it a pure all? No, but it's part of this messaging system and that's the idea is that there is no cure. All we live in this ecosystem and we're constantly messaging within ourselves with our microbiome, the world around us. So those, those two are so important and. You know, there's boy now I'm having a hard time choosing about the third
[Page//00:25:57] Julie Michelson: I know, cause there's, it's like the [Page//00:26:00] list is so long.
[Page//00:26:02] Catherine Clinton: Yeah.
[Page//00:26:02] Julie Michelson: I love it. I can't wait to see what you're going to choose now.
[Page//00:26:07] Catherine Clinton: I'm not choosing, I'm going to tell you
[Page//00:26:10] Julie Michelson: Yeah.
[Page//00:26:11] Catherine Clinton: really quick because I can't choose diet is another huge one. So getting like omega-threes and resistant starches in our diet, build our resilience across the board. So they shift that microbiome to a more healthy Composition of microbes, those resistant starches reach our colon and digested.
[Page//00:26:34] So our microbiome ferments, those resistant starches into short chain, fatty acids, those short chain, fatty acids literally feed the mitochondria. In ourselves, right? That powerhouse of the cells and that decreases intestinal permeability and decreases overall inflammation. And it increases our T regulatory cells.
[Page//00:26:57] And we haven't talked about those that are T [Page//00:27:00] regulatory cells are those kinds of superheroes of the immune system. They'd go in. Stop auto immune reactions. They put out the inflammatory fires of the body. So something like resistant starches is a great way to when we're choosing what we need to eat, right.
[Page//00:27:20] Including some resistance, starches from onions grains, garlic, leeks, asparagus, these things. I have such a profound effect and, and a mega threes as same thing. They will do all of the things that I'm just mentioning. And it isn't because you know, a mega threes we've isolated this compound and, and no.
[Page//00:27:42] From my perspective, it's really because we have evolved forever around waterways, eating seafood, eating sea vegetables, and it's written into our DNA. It's such a massive signal of safety. You know, one of my favorite studies is with infants in the [Page//00:28:00] NICU. And so they separated infants from their mothers.
[Page//00:28:04] For medical reasons it was necessary. Right. But the researchers knew that that separation would cause. Trauma and stress. And it would cause that shift from beneficial microbes in the biome to more harmful species. And of course it did right. They tested. And that's what they saw exactly. Shifting to those horrible speakeasies and the microbiome of these infants.
[Page//00:28:29] And so what they did is they supplemented with the mega threes in the breast milk bottles that they were giving to these infants and they saw a complete reverse. Of that shift right back to having beneficial species like we should have in our microbiome. And why is that? Did that make the infants feel like they were with their mother?
[Page//00:28:52] No. Nope. They were probably still
[Page//00:28:55] Julie Michelson: Still traumatized. Yeah.
[Page//00:28:57] Catherine Clinton: size. Right. But what it did. [Page//00:29:00] Offered their body, their biology physiology, a massive dose of safety. Like, yes, this is traumatizing to be away with your mother, but from your mother. But. You are in a safe spot. You're in the place that you should be in this ecosystem.
[Page//00:29:20] And you have the resilience to weather, this trauma, which, I mean, it just gives me goosebumps saying, because that's what we're talking about is replacing those dangerous signals or even. Adding as many as we can in so that our body starts to quiet that chaotic, inflammatory sort of panic that happens right.
[Page//00:29:42] And, and just regulate and rebalance out. So I really love those three things and geez, the list goes on and on, which is
[Page//00:29:54] Julie Michelson: I'm cutting you off, so we don't go overtime. Maybe we can do this [Page//00:30:00] again, and you can share more of the list. What I love. I really think my favorite part of everything. We covered the really big takeaway is that we just need to move the needle. We know you don't have to fix everything all at once.
[Page//00:30:17] You don't have to find now if people that come to me and they're like, I don't have been looking for a diagnosis, I'm like, I'm so glad you don't have one. You don't identify with it then. Like, that's one piece we don't have to work on. You know, it doesn't matter. We're going to just do the work and it's going to, it's going to be great.
[Page//00:30:34] But it is, it's about moving the needle, right? It's about adding in. Those safety signals that increases your energy, quiets, that immune system. And then all of a sudden, like you said, then you can work on diet. Then you can work on some of these other things. And so, you know, I got into functional medicine via biohacking.
[Page//00:30:54] So when I say you're speaking my language, you are speaking. I mean, you use the word [Page//00:31:00] stack and people always are shocked when I say, you know, we really need to work on sleep and circadian rhythm. And I want you to get morning sunlight as a step one. And they're like, what? And I'm like, yeah, it's actually, it is a rhythm, it's a cycle.
[Page//00:31:16] I even just to throw out a tip of my own for that, that nighttime I used some red lights in my house as well. Because I, sometimes I am on the computer and I, even if I have my blue blockers on, I want, I just want to make sure, I think of, you know, when we think of our lighting, it is literally what were we exposed to?
[Page//00:31:39] The sun rises. We get the blue light sunset. We get that nice orange, red light. It's that simple. I don't know. We don't have to go live in a tent, but you know, like you said, just getting in touch with it and it is, there are plenty of days here in the winter. It's it's, even though I know it would be good for me.
[Page//00:31:59] You [Page//00:32:00] know, that the, I don't want to stand barefoot on the earth.
[Page//00:32:05] Catherine Clinton: Yeah.
[Page//00:32:05] Julie Michelson: Early in the morning when I'm out there getting my sunlight, but what I do notice, and that's the thing, as we take these steps, we become so much more aware. I work from home most of the time, and I noticed that like, if my energy is dipping, I can go outside and get a few minutes of sunlight.
[Page//00:32:25] Stand in the grass barefoot. And it's like, I'm fresh again. So yeah, it really is effective. So effective.
[Page//00:32:36] Catherine Clinton: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And for any parents listening out there, it's such a great thing for kids that cranky too much thing, like go outside and you will come back, you know, relaxed, a
[Page//00:32:52] Julie Michelson: But there's so much more in touch with it, I think, than we are, you know, we, we tend to shut all of that down over time. And so the [Page//00:33:00] kids, you know, they, they may not know they feel it, but they feel it. That's why your little one is like, you know, it's time, it's time. Let's go outside, stand in the grass. I love it.
[Page//00:33:09] And you see. I every year, when we go to the biohacking conference, you see just horns of a standing outside either, you know, when we first get off the plane and get there, and then in between, and I'm sure, you know, the people at these hotels and conference centers are wondering, like, what the heck is going on with everybody's standing around barefoot.
[Page//00:33:31] Catherine Clinton: Absolutely. I spoke at a conference this summer and took some time in between to go swimming and it was laying on the concrete, you know, instead of on the normal. And somebody was like, you have to tell him what you're
[Page//00:33:46] Julie Michelson: Well,
[Page//00:33:49] Catherine Clinton: There is some antioxidant potential here. So I am charging up in my 20 minutes.
[Page//00:33:57] Julie Michelson: there you go.
[Page//00:33:58] Catherine Clinton: Yeah, no
[Page//00:33:59] Julie Michelson: are [Page//00:34:00] energetic beings. We are, we need to recharge.
[Page//00:34:03] Catherine Clinton: Amen. Absolutely.
[Page//00:34:06] Julie Michelson: I love it. Well, before we wrap up, where can listeners find you
[Page//00:34:09] Catherine Clinton: Well, they can find me on my website, which is drcatherineclinton.com and that's, those are my social media handles. You can find me on Instagram, on Facebook and, and this is what I do. I just love to give this content out all the time so that we can be healthier and happier to get.
[Page//00:34:30] Julie Michelson: I love it. And all those links will be in the show notes. Catherine, thank you so much. You shared, you overshared so much gold with us today. I would love to have you back to do it again because I feel like we definitely have more. We could talk about.
[Page//00:34:46] Catherine Clinton: Oh, I love that. And it was just an honor to talk with you today. I love what you're doing. This is so needed. So thank you.
[Page//00:34:55] Julie Michelson: Thanks for everyone listening. Remember you can get the show notes and [Page//00:35:00] transcripts by visiting inspired, living that show. I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I will see you next week.
[Page//00:00:59] Join us to [Page//00:01:00] hear no cost action steps that you can take today to jumpstart your healing, and perhaps the best part none of them have, have to do with eliminating anything.
[Page//00:01:10] Catherine. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. I'm so excited that you're here with us today.
[Page//00:01:16] Catherine Clinton: I am as well. Thank you so much for having me. I'm just so excited to talk with you about all of this stuff today.
[Page//00:01:25] Julie Michelson: Fantastic. I know our passions overlap and I always love to start with your personal journey because for the most part, we all kind of got into this world through our own personal journey. And I know you have, you have one too. So share with listeners, you know, how did you get to be doing what you're doing?
[Page//00:01:49] Catherine Clinton: Absolutely. Well, when I was in medical school, I was in my second year of naturopathic medical school. And I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis [Page//00:02:00] and autoimmune condition, which attacks the colon. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Which is another auto-immune condition that affects the thyroid gland.
[Page//00:02:11] And I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and multiple GI bacterial parasitic infections. And it, it was rough, you know, I think most of us are familiar with that kind of initiation phase that happens in medical school and that's right where I was long hours. You know, in the clinic from 7:00 AM until 7:00 PM and I just didn't have the foundation, the resilience, you know, so that stress really was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, so to speak.
[Page//00:02:44] Right. And, and I was in the perfect place for that. You know, I was surrounded by the most amazing naturopathic physicians regular MD's acupuncturists, Chinese medicine doctors, and they [Page//00:03:00] really helped me piece that. Physical health back together. And I think that's where most of us who are dealing with chronic disease and auto immune conditions rest in, right.
[Page//00:03:13] That goal of getting back to where we were before we were diagnosed or before we got ill. And I think the most profound thing for myself and my patients has been that physical piece is incredible. Once we get back to, you know, and all the pieces are back in place. We can realize that that lifestyle, that status of energy is what got us sick in the first place.
[Page//00:03:40] Right. So there's another real level. To humane sort of a psycho neuro immunology piece to it, how our thoughts play into it, how we sort of fit in the world around us. And that has been really the most amazing piece for myself [Page//00:04:00] and my patients. And so that is my story. I have reversed those auto road conditions.
[Page//00:04:07] Julie Michelson: You know,
[Page//00:04:08] Catherine Clinton: Yeah. Medication or, or anything I do need to tend to myself. And but besides that yes, I'm doing, I'm doing well and just really excited to be able to share that with everyone out there.
[Page//00:04:23] Julie Michelson: I love that. And I, I all too often with the physicians, I, I talked to. Medical school was the trigger. It's it's like, when are we going to change what we do to poor human body and mind in medical school? But I will say, I think you were the first, maybe the first one I've spoken to that. Had a sub had that support quick enough.
[Page//00:04:53] Because especially, you know, the MDs or the Dios, they didn't have those [Page//00:05:00] other, they didn't have acupuncture. They didn't have, you know, any nature paths. They didn't have that broad community that you had. That is amazing that you were able to start to heal so quickly. I always say I used to think I was so smart, but I spent over 11 years declining with RA because I believed my doctors when they said I couldn't heal.
[Page//00:05:20] And so I get really excited when I hear people that were like, you know, no, this isn't isn't going to happen. And even with like me, it wasn't just one diagnosis. It was multiple because that's, that's what tends to happen.
[Page//00:05:36] Catherine Clinton: Right, right. It's that body saying are listening? Nope. Okay. Here's another one listening.
[Page//00:05:41] Julie Michelson: I could be louder. I can get louder. So you threw out a big word and it's a word that makes me smile because it's a, I. I love the study of it. Psycho, neuro immunology. Let's talk about that. Let's, [Page//00:06:00] you know, get into some listeners might be like, what did she make that up? What is that? So let's start there.
[Page//00:06:08] Catherine Clinton: Absolutely. Let's dive into that one. Cause this is a huge word. Right. But basically what it means is the ability of our thoughts to change our biology. Right. And so what we used to think, you know, when I was in medical school, we thought that a lot of the body communicated. With chemical messages, cytokines, neuropeptides, hormones, that kind of thing.
[Page//00:06:33] Now we know that there's direct innervation right from the brain directly. Into the cells that line, the GI tract. So there is a direct instantaneous route from our brain to our gut. And that's really what psycho neuro immunology is about. It's about how those thoughts and frequencies can really, really have a profound effect on.[Page//00:07:00]
[Page//00:07:00] Our biology. You know, one of, one of my favorite studies looks at trauma and trauma has a significant impact on our biology and it, one of the most significant things that does is it shifts our microbiome from a beneficial state of microbes to a more harmful state. And. It increases because of that, it increases inflammation and intestinal permeability.
[Page//00:07:27] But this study looked at cognitive behavioral therapy being consciously changing those thought patterns and a, I think it was a 12 week session. They completely reversed that. Robo microbiomes arrangement. Right? So that shift to the more harmful species shifted back to all those beneficial species that we want in our microbiome, just through the power of changing the way we think.
[Page//00:07:59] So it's, it's [Page//00:08:00] really incredible.
[Page//00:08:02] Julie Michelson: It is B I'm covered in goosebumps. You can't see on camera, but I I'm actually. The middle of writing a presentation that we'll have early aired by the time this does on the importance of creating the healing mindset to, to facilitate healing. I, my story was took the same track as yours and that I was able to thank goodness, heal my body and.
[Page//00:08:29] First, and now in my practice, as I would imagine you use in yours as well, you know, now I'm, I flip-flop and we're going right in and let's get the mindset accelerating the healing. So I love that. I say to people, and I love watching you. You won't change expression, you may smile. But it always surprises me that people just really don't know.
[Page//00:08:53] I say, you know, the body hears every, everything you've said. Every thought you have, [Page//00:09:00] and it takes it as truth. And that's the key right there to that study. Right? Because the good news is once we become aware of that, we can give it positive. We can intentionally plant those positive thoughts and that's where I totally geek out.
[Page//00:09:21] And that's why I wanted to start with this because it is so powerful.
[Page//00:09:27] Catherine Clinton: It really, really is. And, you know, as somebody that's suffered from anxiety throughout my life on and off.
[Page//00:09:35] Julie Michelson: Tell me to shocker.
[Page//00:09:41] Catherine Clinton: And so hearing something like that can be heavy, right? Just like, oh no. Oh,
[Page//00:09:47] Julie Michelson: It's like talking about toxins and how they're everywhere and it's like, okay, no, no, no, wait, it doesn't mean it's all bad. I swear.
[Page//00:09:54] Catherine Clinton: Right because the power of a thought, a positive thought is not dependent on [Page//00:10:00] us holding that product forever. Right. It's, it's just as transient as the negative thoughts. So it's more about patterns and more about empowerment. The ability to do that a few times a day, Really routes that neurological pathway, so that those few times a day become automatic.
[Page//00:10:22] And you can add more times to the day and then you spend more time in that positive nourishing state and yes, yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
[Page//00:10:35] Julie Michelson: Yeah. And, and I learned that, I think that is so key people resist because, you know, if they're in this stress loop and they're either anxious or, you know, fatigued and. And you want me to have positive thoughts? Like that seems so foreign to so many people, but this, this knowledge we now have that you don't even have to believe it.
[Page//00:10:58] Like just start doing it [Page//00:11:00] and let it work. Its magic.
[Page//00:11:03] Catherine Clinton: Yep. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it's a wonderful thing to open up that window into a relationship with ourselves again, right. When we are chronically ill dealing with auto-immune conditions or mental health, anxiety, depression, we have a distrust of our body. And, and we get disconnect in there, right? A panic attack is not comfortable.
[Page//00:11:32] So Yeah. So opening up that window so that we can access a deeper relationship with ourselves. A sense of safety in our own body is so foundational to the health. That's what I love working with people. You know, getting that safety from ourselves, getting that safety from the world around us, because that's what our body is really looking for.
[Page//00:11:58] You know, when we talk [Page//00:12:00] about auto-immune conditions, if we were to Google it right now or internet search it, it would come up as your body attacking itself. Right. And it's, so isn't that such a misnomer and a misunderstanding. And it, it really takes that. That relates to that neurological communication of our body for granted because what's happening with auto-immune conditions.
[Page//00:12:28] To messages in our environment. Right. And if we can replace some of those danger messages from processed food, from feeling unsafe in your life. Family community where you work driving to work. I mean, there's so many places where we can get stressed toxins in our air and in our water, there's so many danger signals that are being sent to our biology.
[Page//00:12:58] And when we can replace [Page//00:13:00] those dangerous signals with something. Safety signal that our body, that our biology is really looking for whole food, clean water, clean air. Then we can start to build that safety outside of us. And that's just an amazing thing to see with myself and my family and my patients is having someone who's unwell and feeling so fundamentally unsafe, rebuild those connections with themselves and with the world around them, it's just. Passion. It's just, I can't think of anything better.
[Page//00:13:34] Julie Michelson: I share that passion. It's magical. It's I mean, it's science, but it's magical, you know, all the stuff that sounds. Ooh, it has so much science behind it. And I think the being able to use that with, at least for me being able to use that with my clients is I know, again, I know it's rooted in science, but it is magical to watch [Page//00:14:00] people blossom.
[Page//00:14:01] And it is such a natural part of autoimmunity and chronic illness. even completely without awareness or intention, get to a place where we feel like, oh, my body is my enemy, right? Like I'm in pain and I, maybe I'm not as mobile, you know? And it's, especially when we get into that cascade or it's not one diagnosis.
[Page//00:14:24] Two or three or four or five. And, and so it is so essential. I always say, you know, we, we ha you have to partner with your body because the more you're feeling, you know, again, it's hearing, it's hearing all of that. So I, I am so. That's share your passion for that. And I'm excited for your patients that that's the approach that you're taking with them.
[Page//00:14:49] I don't know how so how, how do you view, I think you already gave it to us, but, but when a patient comes to you, you know, in your [Page//00:15:00] practice, how do you view auto-immunity like, what do you, and I know I, I am pretty sure you said you already said it, but I want people to really hear. The, you know, it's a, it's a very different perspective and it's a very accurate perspective.
[Page//00:15:16] Catherine Clinton: Yeah. Yeah. I think that's where most people come to me. Right. They have been tested up the wazoo, tried their. Most likely a steroid all kind of, you know yeah, drugs and, and they're not feeling relief and they are feeling betrayed. They're feeling like their body's broken. It's not their friend anymore.
[Page//00:15:42] And so that's what I start with. I start with explaining that it is not your body attacking itself. It is your body. That it has evolved on this earth for millennia, with all kinds of different messages that are [Page//00:16:00] really literally quite literally written into our DNA. And we're searching for that when we are interacting.
[Page//00:16:07] In the world, when our microbiome is interacting in the world, we are searching for those signals to see where are we? Where's my place in the world. Am I in the right spot? Right. And so much of modern life is a dangerous. Process toxins, the chronic stress that we're under. I mean, if we look at the last two years, my goodness, right?
[Page//00:16:31] Incredible amounts of stress and fear and, and so many obstacles. Our, our modern life really sets us up for. Dangerous signals that we have not evolved with. So what I talk with my patients about is removing some of those dangerous signals and replacing them with signals of safety. So this doesn't have to be overwhelming.
[Page//00:16:56] It doesn't have to be a huge [Page//00:17:00] exclusion thing, right. Even including, even if you're in a place where you're like, I will. Try another diet thing. I will not, you know, I will not exclude another thing from my life. That's understandable. Or at the same time, I can't write, I live in an unsafe community. My workplace isn't safe.
[Page//00:17:23] I don't feel safe in the world. And, and, and very likely aren't right. So. If even if we can't remove those dangerous signals, we can pile in the safety signals so that our body is not, you know, it's like a messaging center where you're just getting like, there's a fire on four, two, there's a fi firearm 13.
[Page//00:17:47] And you know, you've got your operator go here, go there. And people are panicking and, and it's a chaotic. System where we're used to our biology is used to this orchestra [Page//00:18:00] of all of these different messages that cascade to biological action in our body. And so even just adding those in can be such a powerful thing.
[Page//00:18:11] That's where I like to start with my patients because simple. Three things that we do at home can be really life-changing and for some suffering from chronic illness. And auto-immunity having that window of hope open, it can be the most powerful thing, right. Because that's where we see our patients, right.
[Page//00:18:33] They come to us.
[Page//00:18:34] Julie Michelson: Yes.
[Page//00:18:35] Catherine Clinton: We're the last hope, you know, and it's like a last ditch effort. So, you know, okay. Let's open up that hope, but let's pilot in those safety signals and, and just see just one week of it can make a profound difference in our physiology and how we're feeling. [Page//00:19:00] So that's where I started with patients.
[Page//00:19:02] Julie Michelson: And I think that's, that's incredible and fantastic. And I, what I love the most is that you're you talked about adding in, right? Because so many people full disclosure, eventually when I work with somebody, we do eliminate certain foods. But there is such a takeaway approach for people that, you know, again, by the time people find me, it's the same, it's the same thing they show up at my doorstep.
[Page//00:19:31] Then most often there is the occasional, you know, I just got that. And it's a heck now, and I'm going to do something right now, but usually it's a, it's a journey. And yeah, it's like, you know what, Mo you know, don't take another thing away from me. So I love that add in because it is so important.
[Page//00:19:49] It's, it's wordy feeling deprived enough when we're not well, so,
[Page//00:19:53] Catherine Clinton: Absolutely. Absolutely. And we can eliminate those foods and really form those new [Page//00:20:00] connections with foods. When we feel happier, when we have
[Page//00:20:02] Julie Michelson: or have the energy to, or yeah, I had a, literally a client say to me yesterday, she had shifted from, Hey, reminded her. I'm like, you are the same. You are the same woman who said to me, you know, this is so hard. And I, you know, the processes we all go through, you know, it's so unfair that I have to eat so carefully just to.
[Page//00:20:25] Feel halfway decent. And yesterday she said to me, cause she made the shift. She said, I feel so fortunate that I get to feed my body. The things that nourish. And it was like, oh, this is awesome. It's the ship. I love it. So you mentioned, did, you mentioned amazing things. You mentioned, you know, no cost free things that people can do to get started.
[Page//00:20:53] And I always ask every guest for one thing, but you are. Ultra generous. And I know you're going to give us [Page//00:21:00] three. So what are those things? What can P you know, listeners just start doing right now?
[Page//00:21:08] Catherine Clinton: Well one of the biggest things that I think people can do is balancing our circadian rhythm. Right? So one of the things that we have evolved with one of our major safety signals is that we live on a planet that orbits the sun, right. And we live in rhythm with that sun. And so when we wake up. And we get am some light in our eyes before 10:00 AM.
[Page//00:21:35] It sets a whole cascade of hormones and neurotransmitters. We get a flood of serotonin, which gives us energy and feeling good. That same serotonin actually, when the lights are lowered in the evening, when the sun goes down, that turns into melatonin. And that's our sleep hormone. It actually has really incredible [Page//00:22:00] antimicrobial, AMU benefits as well.
[Page//00:22:03] And
[Page//00:22:04] Julie Michelson: right now.
[Page//00:22:05] Catherine Clinton: yeah, yeah, exactly. And we've got dopamine and growth hormone, all these things happening with that am sun getting a little sun in your day, also maintains.
[Page//00:22:18] Julie Michelson: Without your sunglasses on everybody.
[Page//00:22:21] Catherine Clinton: Absolutely. Absolutely. And so I'm here in Oregon and there are times when we don't see the sun for
[Page//00:22:29] Julie Michelson: Right?
[Page//00:22:30] Catherine Clinton: right. It's just this gray background and that counts.
[Page//00:22:35] Julie Michelson: Yes.
[Page//00:22:36] Catherine Clinton: Outside natural light. It can be raining and dark and dreary. If the sun just came up or it's before 10:00 AM, that's, what's going to trigger all of those things.
[Page//00:22:46] It doesn't have to be tropical, wonderful sun that you want to, you know, lay down and soak up. It's just natural light. It's being in that rhythm. And when we lower the lights at night, [Page//00:23:00] you know, watching that sun go down. Triggers another whole cascade physiologically in our body. And what I like to do is kind of make it a tradition.
[Page//00:23:11] So when the lights get lowered, like here, it's dark at five, right?
[Page//00:23:16] Julie Michelson: Yes.
[Page//00:23:18] Catherine Clinton: Well, we have to sort of adjust our inside lights to some people that doesn't throw as much blue light and quiet, light out as salt lamps. I feel really fortunate that we heat our house with a wood stove so that we can. Gathered around the fire at night, you know, that's a fun thing to do.
[Page//00:23:38] There's all kinds of different ways to turn this into a routine. So it's not this like go out and look at the assignment schedule that you must've here too. It becomes this relation. With the sun and with the rhythm of the season, that is so [Page//00:24:00] important for our biology. And I like to actually stack that with getting in contact with the earth.
[Page//00:24:08] And so, again, it's cold.
[Page//00:24:10] Julie Michelson: You stole my, I was going to say, if it's not freezing what I do every morning, When it is cold.
[Page//00:24:21] Catherine Clinton: Yeah. No, absolutely. And, and I try, I'll be honest with you. I do try to go out and be barefoot and do that in the morning as routine, my kids, especially my youngest is so good at this. She's she is our like cheerleader for her.
[Page//00:24:40] Julie Michelson: Yeah,
[Page//00:24:41] Catherine Clinton: From some mornings. I like, I am lucky to be outside moving.
[Page//00:24:46] Julie Michelson: sure.
[Page//00:24:48] Catherine Clinton: I do not want the cold on my feet and you can get that same benefit from touching a trees, sitting on the grass, touching the ground you know, touching something [Page//00:25:00] that's living, even just being outside.
[Page//00:25:03] Would you in contact with those negative ions that just enormous amount of antioxidant potential that's out there. So just even, I, you know, I would challenge people listening today to try this for four or five days a week and no. The difference. Notice the difference in your sleep and your energy and your mood.
[Page//00:25:29] Is it a pure all? No, but it's part of this messaging system and that's the idea is that there is no cure. All we live in this ecosystem and we're constantly messaging within ourselves with our microbiome, the world around us. So those, those two are so important and. You know, there's boy now I'm having a hard time choosing about the third
[Page//00:25:57] Julie Michelson: I know, cause there's, it's like the [Page//00:26:00] list is so long.
[Page//00:26:02] Catherine Clinton: Yeah.
[Page//00:26:02] Julie Michelson: I love it. I can't wait to see what you're going to choose now.
[Page//00:26:07] Catherine Clinton: I'm not choosing, I'm going to tell you
[Page//00:26:10] Julie Michelson: Yeah.
[Page//00:26:11] Catherine Clinton: really quick because I can't choose diet is another huge one. So getting like omega-threes and resistant starches in our diet, build our resilience across the board. So they shift that microbiome to a more healthy Composition of microbes, those resistant starches reach our colon and digested.
[Page//00:26:34] So our microbiome ferments, those resistant starches into short chain, fatty acids, those short chain, fatty acids literally feed the mitochondria. In ourselves, right? That powerhouse of the cells and that decreases intestinal permeability and decreases overall inflammation. And it increases our T regulatory cells.
[Page//00:26:57] And we haven't talked about those that are T [Page//00:27:00] regulatory cells are those kinds of superheroes of the immune system. They'd go in. Stop auto immune reactions. They put out the inflammatory fires of the body. So something like resistant starches is a great way to when we're choosing what we need to eat, right.
[Page//00:27:20] Including some resistance, starches from onions grains, garlic, leeks, asparagus, these things. I have such a profound effect and, and a mega threes as same thing. They will do all of the things that I'm just mentioning. And it isn't because you know, a mega threes we've isolated this compound and, and no.
[Page//00:27:42] From my perspective, it's really because we have evolved forever around waterways, eating seafood, eating sea vegetables, and it's written into our DNA. It's such a massive signal of safety. You know, one of my favorite studies is with infants in the [Page//00:28:00] NICU. And so they separated infants from their mothers.
[Page//00:28:04] For medical reasons it was necessary. Right. But the researchers knew that that separation would cause. Trauma and stress. And it would cause that shift from beneficial microbes in the biome to more harmful species. And of course it did right. They tested. And that's what they saw exactly. Shifting to those horrible speakeasies and the microbiome of these infants.
[Page//00:28:29] And so what they did is they supplemented with the mega threes in the breast milk bottles that they were giving to these infants and they saw a complete reverse. Of that shift right back to having beneficial species like we should have in our microbiome. And why is that? Did that make the infants feel like they were with their mother?
[Page//00:28:52] No. Nope. They were probably still
[Page//00:28:55] Julie Michelson: Still traumatized. Yeah.
[Page//00:28:57] Catherine Clinton: size. Right. But what it did. [Page//00:29:00] Offered their body, their biology physiology, a massive dose of safety. Like, yes, this is traumatizing to be away with your mother, but from your mother. But. You are in a safe spot. You're in the place that you should be in this ecosystem.
[Page//00:29:20] And you have the resilience to weather, this trauma, which, I mean, it just gives me goosebumps saying, because that's what we're talking about is replacing those dangerous signals or even. Adding as many as we can in so that our body starts to quiet that chaotic, inflammatory sort of panic that happens right.
[Page//00:29:42] And, and just regulate and rebalance out. So I really love those three things and geez, the list goes on and on, which is
[Page//00:29:54] Julie Michelson: I'm cutting you off, so we don't go overtime. Maybe we can do this [Page//00:30:00] again, and you can share more of the list. What I love. I really think my favorite part of everything. We covered the really big takeaway is that we just need to move the needle. We know you don't have to fix everything all at once.
[Page//00:30:17] You don't have to find now if people that come to me and they're like, I don't have been looking for a diagnosis, I'm like, I'm so glad you don't have one. You don't identify with it then. Like, that's one piece we don't have to work on. You know, it doesn't matter. We're going to just do the work and it's going to, it's going to be great.
[Page//00:30:34] But it is, it's about moving the needle, right? It's about adding in. Those safety signals that increases your energy, quiets, that immune system. And then all of a sudden, like you said, then you can work on diet. Then you can work on some of these other things. And so, you know, I got into functional medicine via biohacking.
[Page//00:30:54] So when I say you're speaking my language, you are speaking. I mean, you use the word [Page//00:31:00] stack and people always are shocked when I say, you know, we really need to work on sleep and circadian rhythm. And I want you to get morning sunlight as a step one. And they're like, what? And I'm like, yeah, it's actually, it is a rhythm, it's a cycle.
[Page//00:31:16] I even just to throw out a tip of my own for that, that nighttime I used some red lights in my house as well. Because I, sometimes I am on the computer and I, even if I have my blue blockers on, I want, I just want to make sure, I think of, you know, when we think of our lighting, it is literally what were we exposed to?
[Page//00:31:39] The sun rises. We get the blue light sunset. We get that nice orange, red light. It's that simple. I don't know. We don't have to go live in a tent, but you know, like you said, just getting in touch with it and it is, there are plenty of days here in the winter. It's it's, even though I know it would be good for me.
[Page//00:31:59] You [Page//00:32:00] know, that the, I don't want to stand barefoot on the earth.
[Page//00:32:05] Catherine Clinton: Yeah.
[Page//00:32:05] Julie Michelson: Early in the morning when I'm out there getting my sunlight, but what I do notice, and that's the thing, as we take these steps, we become so much more aware. I work from home most of the time, and I noticed that like, if my energy is dipping, I can go outside and get a few minutes of sunlight.
[Page//00:32:25] Stand in the grass barefoot. And it's like, I'm fresh again. So yeah, it really is effective. So effective.
[Page//00:32:36] Catherine Clinton: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And for any parents listening out there, it's such a great thing for kids that cranky too much thing, like go outside and you will come back, you know, relaxed, a
[Page//00:32:52] Julie Michelson: But there's so much more in touch with it, I think, than we are, you know, we, we tend to shut all of that down over time. And so the [Page//00:33:00] kids, you know, they, they may not know they feel it, but they feel it. That's why your little one is like, you know, it's time, it's time. Let's go outside, stand in the grass. I love it.
[Page//00:33:09] And you see. I every year, when we go to the biohacking conference, you see just horns of a standing outside either, you know, when we first get off the plane and get there, and then in between, and I'm sure, you know, the people at these hotels and conference centers are wondering, like, what the heck is going on with everybody's standing around barefoot.
[Page//00:33:31] Catherine Clinton: Absolutely. I spoke at a conference this summer and took some time in between to go swimming and it was laying on the concrete, you know, instead of on the normal. And somebody was like, you have to tell him what you're
[Page//00:33:46] Julie Michelson: Well,
[Page//00:33:49] Catherine Clinton: There is some antioxidant potential here. So I am charging up in my 20 minutes.
[Page//00:33:57] Julie Michelson: there you go.
[Page//00:33:58] Catherine Clinton: Yeah, no
[Page//00:33:59] Julie Michelson: are [Page//00:34:00] energetic beings. We are, we need to recharge.
[Page//00:34:03] Catherine Clinton: Amen. Absolutely.
[Page//00:34:06] Julie Michelson: I love it. Well, before we wrap up, where can listeners find you
[Page//00:34:09] Catherine Clinton: Well, they can find me on my website, which is drcatherineclinton.com and that's, those are my social media handles. You can find me on Instagram, on Facebook and, and this is what I do. I just love to give this content out all the time so that we can be healthier and happier to get.
[Page//00:34:30] Julie Michelson: I love it. And all those links will be in the show notes. Catherine, thank you so much. You shared, you overshared so much gold with us today. I would love to have you back to do it again because I feel like we definitely have more. We could talk about.
[Page//00:34:46] Catherine Clinton: Oh, I love that. And it was just an honor to talk with you today. I love what you're doing. This is so needed. So thank you.
[Page//00:34:55] Julie Michelson: Thanks for everyone listening. Remember you can get the show notes and [Page//00:35:00] transcripts by visiting inspired, living that show. I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I will see you next week.
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My Guest For This Episode
Connect with Catherine Clinton, ND
Catherine Clinton, ND
Naturopathic Physician
Dr. Catherine Clinton ND is a licensed naturopathic physician with a focus on gut health, autoimmunity and psychoneuroimmunology.Respected author, speaker, pediatric health advocate, Dr. Catherine practices in Eugene, Oregon.When in medical school Dr. Catherine was diagnosed with and healed from an autoimmune disease that effects the gastrointestinal tract, leaving her with a passion to prevent autoimmunity in children everywhere. Dr. Catherine addresses the psychoneuroimmune system and gut health of children and families through a deeper connection with the world around us.
Dr. Catherine is passionate about the connections we have with the world around us and how these connections can regenerate our health and the health of the planet. She sees an urgent need for healing our internal terrain as well as healing the terrain of the world we live in. Dr. Catherine has multiple peer-reviewed medical journal articles as well as guest writing for several publications.
Dr. Catherine is passionate about the connections we have with the world around us and how these connections can regenerate our health and the health of the planet. She sees an urgent need for healing our internal terrain as well as healing the terrain of the world we live in. Dr. Catherine has multiple peer-reviewed medical journal articles as well as guest writing for several publications.
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