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Case Overview

I had no idea what my condition was or how to resolve it before Gritwell. Gritwell did an amazing job of getting down to the cause of my issues, educating me on what's driving it and giving me a plan to resolve it
Amber is a 36-year-old African American woman who joined Gritwell in 2020. For over 15 years, Amber had suffered from severe digestive issues. She also struggled with chronic nasal congestion, skin flushing, insomnia, and debilitating fatigue. Her quality of life was severely impacted by having to manage her daily symptoms. She reported significant stress in her daily life associated with balancing her family’s needs with her work, existing on a tight budget, all while struggling with her health, which she felt was progressively deteriorating.
Prior to joining Gritwell, Amber had tried elimination diets and identified sensitivities to gluten, cruciferous foods, sausages, chicken, and alcohol. She was taking Claritin daily and multiple supplements including probiotics, a B50 complex, zinc, L-glutamine, collagen, vitamin D3, and vitamin C but still struggling with daily inflammation.
When she started with Gritwell, her personal goals included decreasing her digestive issues and reducing her histamine issues - particularly skin flushing and nasal congestion.
PROGRAM ELEMENTS

During her initial evaluation, Amber’s coach obtained a detailed history which indicated a pattern of chronic inflammation and a likely excessive production of histamine. Amber’s symptoms of flushing, chronic diarrhea, heartburn, and chronic nasal congestion also indicated she suffered from a histamine intolerance. Overall, Amber appeared to have been living in a heightened sympathetic state as a result of chronic stress causing many of her symptoms. 

After analyzing Amber’s lab reports and GI map, Gritwell identified the root cause of Amber’s distress to be an imbalance of good gut microbiota and intestinal permeability, with an underlying long-term simmering infection.

Amber’s wellness coach next created a 4-month based personalized nutrition and supplement based program with multiple phases of treatment to address Amber’s gut imbalances, inflammation, and potential hormone imbalance. Amber was instructed to keep a daily intake and symptom diary (food, supplements, etc), which was reviewed biweekly by her wellness coach to determine further triggers for her symptoms. In addition to biweekly meetings, Amber had unlimited support from our care team to address any issues between sessions.Amber was paired with a health and wellness coach trained on Gritwell’s platform, methodology, and research.
KEY TRIGGERS AND INTERVENTIONS
Amber’s case was complex. Overall, her program focused on foods to support healthy digestion and gut barrier function, while lowering inflammation in the body. She was found to have multiple food sensitivities and nuanced adjustments had to be made to her nutritional plan.  Diversity in food intake was also encouraged to grow beneficial bacteria in the microbiome. 

In general, Amber’s plan included continuing gluten-free, eliminating spinach and dairy, increasing fiber, protein, and fat in her meals. Amber was also encouraged to decrease high histamine foods. After trial and error, arugula was found to trigger her intense skin flushing and pain - a symptom she had never been able to resolve before. Her coach also identified that coffee and chia were too stressful for her gut. 

Amber responded well to the supplement program designed to support her gut health and immune system. She was prescribed magnesium glycinate, mega2000 IGG, and quercetin-bromelain forte to support her metabolism, digestion, and decrease inflammation. She required the added prescription of celtic sea salt to increase hydration, support electrolyte balance, and help with stress/adrenal balance. Herbal therapy using ginger and peppermint tea were incorporated as gut soothers, and nettle leaf tea was used as a histamine decreaser. 
Results
After 3 months in the Gritwell program, Amber reported a significant decrease in her daily gastrointestinal symptoms. Her reported daily symptoms dropped by 71%, showing large improvement in digestive symptoms (89% reduction), mouth/throat symptoms (80% reduction), and skin symptoms (75% reduction). Amber felt so much better that she was able to reduce her allergy medication to once a week. Overall, Amber’s personalized program vastly improved her quality of life. Her immune system, once hyperreactive, was on the mend and her daily fear of eating was resolved. Amber looks forward to continuing her nutritional program, revitalizing her health, and checking in with Gritwell to maintain her health so she can continue to thrive and enjoy her newfound wellness.