Dietary Changes

In July 2022, I decided to try and see if I could improve my POTS symptoms through food. I was always interested in trying an anti-inflammatory diet, since some studies show that POTS may be an autoimmune disease. I ended up trying the Medical Mediums' diet and supplement recommendations and ended up drastically improving all of my symptoms -particularly my fatigue, brain fog, head pressure, lightheadedness, palpitations, body weakness, numbness and tingling, and gastrointestinal issues. It's truly been life changing.

Here is a link to my blog post Frequently Asked Questions: Medical Medium

After sharing my POTS diagnosis publicly, an old friend of mine from college reached out to tell me that over the past two years she had experienced many of the same symptoms, and found a lot of relief after following Anthony William, the Medical Medium's recommendations. Since the Medical Medium protocols are all naturally anti-inflammatory anyways, I figured it was worth a shot. I had always heard about MM and even had one of his old books lying on my shelf that I never opened. I considered trying his recommendations back in college when I was dealing with gastro issues, but I never did because, honestly, I just never believed they would work. But now that I knew someone personally with first-hand experience, I decided to give it a go.

(Also, just a side note: I totally understand if you don't believe in the MM protocols and have no interest in trying them out. I know a lot of his ideas are not backed by science. I want to be clear that I am not pushing this on anyone, I am just simply sharing my positive experience).

Every day I start with 16-30oz of fresh celery juice (I use the Nama J2 juicer), followed by a Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie (recipe here). Then the rest of the day, I eat whatever I want but I  try to avoid gluten, dairy, corn, eggs, seed oils (like canola oil), pork, citric acid, soy, msg, farmed fish, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, and natural flavors. This is based off of Medical Medium's "Foods to Avoid for Healing Chronic Illness." Since this isn't an actual "diet" there's no counting calories, macros, etc. It's not about the quantity of foods, but the quality -- you should never go hungry! Also, I do eat meat and wild-caught fish! I just try to limit animal protein to one meal a day and usually don't have it until after 4pm. 

I followed this 100% for eight weeks straight and now follow it about 85-90% of the time (minus the celery juice and smoothie which I still try to have every day). It only took about three weeks for my family to notice some slight changes, and slowly each month the severity of nearly all my symptoms started to decrease. I haven't had to use my cane since mid-September 2022 and was able to get off of Atomoxetine, which prior to this was the only thing helping control my debilitating brain fog and head pressure, and also my beta-blocker which was controlling my heart rate! My bloating and digestion also improved after just a couple of weeks on the diet. 

Yes and no. If you work from home or are housebound due to POTS, it will be easier since it's difficult to follow the diet when eating out. However, it does require some cooking since you're mainly eating all whole foods. I know that it would have been extremely difficult for me to make this lifestyle change had I not been on Atomoxetine and beta-blockers when I started, so I do want to note that. There was nearly an entire year and a half where I was physically unable to cook due to the severity of my symptoms, so I fully understand the difficulty that comes with cooking when dealing with this condition. 

Luckily, making the celery juice takes no time at all. I buy pre-washed organic celery, so all I do is cut it in half and throw it in the juicer -- the Nama J2 is great because you don't have to stand there juicing stalk by stalk, like most juicers. The smoothie is also quick to throw together, and then I also meal prep. Once a month, I bake a large batch of plant-based muffins to keep in the freezer that I take out for breakfast/lunch or a snack throughout the day. At the beginning of the week, I'll make a soup or pot roast that will last me a few days, and I always try to keep lunch and dinner simple. An air fryer and InstantPot have helped make my life easier. MM is also really big on increasing fruit intake, so I always have a bunch of fruit on hand. I used to avoid eating a lot of fruit because it would upset my stomach (I was actually diagnosed with fructose intolerance in 2021), but now I aim to have at least two bananas, two cups of blueberries, two apples, and four dates a day and do so without any discomfort! You can find a lot of easy recipes here, and I also have some of my favorites on my blog and social media pages.

I think sticking to the diet 100% of the time for the first 8 weeks really kick-started my healing, but now that I'm following it the vast majority of the time, I still continue to see great progress. As POTS patients, we often have such little joy in our lives in the first place when we're in the thick of it, so if you're having a decent symptom day and feel well enough to go out to dinner with a loved one, you should definitely take advantage and go, even if that means not being able to follow the diet. Just try picking it back up the next day! It shouldn't feel stressful or restrictive (or else you'll just stress your already overworked nervous system out even more!). There is also a noticeable difference in my symptoms when I have too many days in a row of not following it, so that also makes it easier to get back on track. If you're just starting out, I do recommend following the diet strictly for least two months to really give it an honest shot to see if this could work for you. 

I'm not a believer in coining foods as "good" or "bad," but I do believe in bad ingredients and the importance of consuming more high-quality, minimally processed, and nutrient-dense foods. I also want to note that I by no means think that a diet that doesn't follow what is described above causes POTS or any other type of illness. If that were the case, then nearly everyone in the world would have POTS! But I do believe that certain foods can aid in healing, and others can impede healing.  An increasing body of evidence shows that chronic inflammation advances many common diseases and conditions, and one of the best ways to help combat this is through dietary changes.

If you're already familiar with Medical Medium, you know that he has a few main cleanses - his 369 Cleanse (simplified, original, advanced), a 28-Day Cleanse, plus mono cleanses. When I first started out, I knew that there was no way I would be able to handle those cleanses in the state that I was in - they are very strict and require a lot of prep work. So instead, I just removed all of the "Foods to Avoid for Healing Chronic Illness" (graphic pictured below), and started every morning with celery juice and the heavy metal detox smoothie. I realized months afterward that I was basically following his Anti-Bug Cleanse mixed with his Heavy Metal Detox Cleanse, minus the lemon water in the morning (when I first tried having 16-32 oz of lemon water upon waking it irritated my gastritis, so I never tried it again), but who knows, maybe I'd be able to handle it now. I think some people, as I did in the past, hear about cleanses and run the other way, but you can always pick and choose what works for you and what doesn't. 

Obviously, nothing with POTS or any type of chronic illness is a one size fits all approach. We are all unique. I know of people who have decreased many of their POTS symptoms after consistently following a plant-based vegan diet, and others who have done so on a high animal protein-based diet. We all respond to diets, treatments, and supplements differently. A dietary change of any kind may not work for you and that is completely understandable. However, since I've seen so much improvement in such a short amount of time, I wanted to share what has worked for me, with the hope that it could also work for others too!

In July 2022, I also started following the Medical Medium's supplement protocol for Autoimmune Disorders. Here is a PDF file that talks about it in more detail. 

Note: I was only strict with this supplement protocol for about six months, and now I don't feel the need to take them as regularly.

Zinc - 2 droppers full twice daily

Vitamin B12 - 2 droppers full twice daily

Lemon Balm - 2 droppers full twice daily

Cats Claw - 2 droppers full twice daily

Micro C - 4 capsules daily

L-Lysine - 4 capsules daily

Spirulina Powder - 2 tsp daily (for the Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie)

Barley Grass Juice Powder - 2 tsp daily (for the Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie)

All are from the brand Vimergy 

*Be sure to consult a doctor before starting any supplements, especially when taking prescription medication.

Buying all of these supplements at once can get pricey, so in terms of priority, I'd say the diet definitely comes first. The first two supplements I'd recommend buying would be the two powders for the heavy metal detox smoothie! You can always add in more supplements later. 

✨ DISCLAIMER: I am not a licensed medical professional. The content on this website reflects my personal experiences and should not be considered medical advice.