Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown (leadership and business strategist) is a book about doing less better. As I read it for the third time, I couldn’t help but wonder how this principal could be applied to healing, especially in the world of functional medicine where it can feel like there are so many things we should be doing. But first…
What is “Essentialism?”
“The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s not about getting less done. It’s about getting only the right things done. It’s about challenging the core assumption of ‘we can have it all’ and ‘I have to do everything’ and replacing it with the pursuit of ‘the right thing, in the right way, at the right time’. It’s about regaining control of our own choices about where to spend our time and energies instead of giving others implicit permission to choose for us.” - Greg McKeown
We live in a world of excessive information and choices. We receive endless input. We even have a new condition - FOMO - fear of missing out. Obviously all of this is stress inducing, not good for our health or for finding meaning in our fleeting moment here.
This book provides a map of how we can get out from under all of that and move forward. This image from the book says it all….
Essentialism in Healing
How can this principle of doing less better be applied to our health, brain health included? How can we move forward and not be burdened with the stress of endless information, treatment options, protocols, supplements, online information and shoulds and shouldn’ts? How do we know which tests or treatments will be the most impactful?
Functional medicine is about addressing the root causes - usually an alignment of root causes. It is inherently complicated. Root causes, whether nutrient imbalances, inflammation, toxicity, chronic stress, trauma, etc. are never operating in isolation. They all influence one another. Even with such complexity, there are a lot of tools available. That doesn’t mean everyone needs all of them.
The Trivial Many with The Vital Few
Essentialism is broken down into four sections.
Essence - What is the core mind-set of an Essentialist?
Explore - How can we discern the trivial many from the vital few?
Eliminate - How can we cut out the trivial many?
Execute - How can we make doing the vital few things almost effortless? [This last one kind of takes care of itself once the vital few have been figured out and the trivial many have been eliminated.]
Basic Essentials in Healing
When I think about these core elements of Essentialism in the context of healing, I think of those of us who have spent excessive time, effort and money on many routes to healing, while not investing in the few things we know really work for us. Our fear of missing out on the latest fix takes us off our path; takes us away from the very basics, which for most of us are a solid sleep routine, a “healthy”diet, movement/exercise and lowering our stress response. For many struggling with fatigue, brain fog and/or insomnia, getting those in place may not be a realistic starting point.
Are There Other Universal Essentials When it Comes to the Brain?
I can only answer this based on my experience treating patients and providing consultations for those with brain symptoms. I do check the Walsh Nutrient levels found to impact brain health (plasma zinc, serum copper, ceruloplasmin, pyrroles, and whole blood histamine) on everyone that I see because they will almost always (90-95% of the time) reveal an imbalance. That doesn’t mean these are the only issues, but they are an opportunity to have an impact - usually a significant one with a specific nutrient protocol.
IDENTIFYING LOW ZINC - Of those, I find the plasma zinc level to be especially essential. Zinc impacts many other areas. If it’s not optimized, it may be hard for gut health, immune regulation, toxicity and neurotransmitter functioning to improve. Zinc also impacts the other brain related nutrient imbalances - it keeps copper in check, is needed in pyrrole disorder and has a role in methylation. I’m not suggesting anyone run out and start taking zinc. We are normally checking it along with copper (and ceruloplasmin), as zinc can impact copper levels. Typical lab ranges do not include optimal ranges that those of us trained by the Walsh Research Institute use. I’m glad to elaborate further if there are questions on this.
IDENTIFYING MOLD TOXICITY - Similarly, mold toxicity is very often the root of the roots. I don’t check this for everyone, but I do for most people at this point. I consider urine mycotoxin testing vital for anyone with mast cell activation, PANS, PANDAS, dementia, autism, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. I also find it essential for those with known exposures to water damage or mold and who have depression, anxiety, panic, fatigue, brain fog or the diagnosis of ADHD. If there aren’t known exposures, but there are other physical symptoms suggestive of mold, I will recommend testing. I don’t consider all mycotoxin testing equal - in fact, I find some fairly useless. At the time of writing this (and for the last 4 years), I’ve rely on the RealTime mycotoxin testing.
Many people reach out to me who have high immune and central nervous system reactivity (“reacting to everything”) or even autoimmunity (like PANS or PANDAS). They are getting a lot of support and interventions, but biotoxins (especially mold toxins) haven’t been tested for (and very often zinc hasn’t been either or it hasn’t been interpreted as low, for lack of familiarity with the Walsh Protocols).
This is not criticism of their doctors. The field of functional medicine is vast. We all have different patient populations and will have different areas of expertise. I’m commenting on my experience, which is brain focused. I’ve also been fortunate to have been trained by two very practical pioneers in their respective fields - William Walsh, PhD (nutrient imbalances and brain symptoms) and Dr. Neil Nathan, MD (mold toxicity and chronic complex illness).
None of this is to suggest that I’m only optimizing zinc and addressing mold toxicity in the patients I see. I do use other testing and other tools, but I want to emphasize: If these issues are present (which they usually are) and not being addressed, the other tools are less likely to be impactful.
My Personal Essentials
Part of what guides our journey is listening to ourselves and our bodies - noting what resonates with us… what makes us feel better… what makes sense to us…. and what practically fits with our daily life. Our unique needs also change over time depending upon where we are in our healing journey and where we are developmentally in our lives. At one point mast cell interventions were vital for me. Now they’re not.
At the moment these are my daily vital few:
Low carb diet with adequate protein and a fast between about 7pm and 12 noon.
30 plus minutes walk outside.
7 1/2 to 8 hours sleep (not more; not less)
10 minute deep breathing practice/meditation.
Relatively low Electromagnetic Fields/EMF exposure.
Though I take various nutrients, if I had to pick two to take on a deserted island - I’d pick zinc and SAMe, as these two have been the most obviously impactful for me. [I’m not recommending these for you - they are not benign. Again, we differ in terms of our needs and timing of interventions.]
Try to avoid living or working in buildings that have water damage/mold.
Try to avoid striving, grasping and clinging to outcomes. Instead, I try to trust that the universe has a better plan than I do.
I’d love to know what tools or practices are essential for you.
Until next time,
Medical Disclaimer:
This newsletter is for educational purposes and not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment for either yourself or others, including but not limited to patients that you are treating (if you are a practitioner). Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having.