Chronic disease seems to manifest itself everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you live, how much you earn, or who you are, it’s almost impossible to hide from chronic disease.
The only way that you have a chance of minimizing the likelihood that you or a loved one will suffer from a chronic disease is by eliminating toxins from your life. This is something that I dive into during my conversation with Cardiology Nurse Practitioner, Kristi Cronin.
Kristi has a very interesting story to share and one that I know will inspire you to ditch the toxins in favor of a more natural and holistic approach. As a Nurse Practitioner, Kristi has experienced many things throughout her career and shares her expertise with us today.
She also talks about how chronic disease is manifesting itself, particularly when it comes to the circulatory system and the heart. Kristi shares her personal story with us and reveals how she married the world of medicine with more holistic alternatives when she was faced with a crisis within her own family.
Kristi’s role as a Nurse Practitioner
Kristi has always been passionate about health and education. As a Nurse Practitioner, Kristi takes a unique approach when it comes to medicine. She looks at the patient as a whole, not only addressing their healthcare needs but also considering their mental health while embracing alternatives.
Finding a nurse practitioner who is open-minded enough to embrace alternatives is so important. They’re different from ‘regular nurses’ because a nurse practitioner generally functions best in the role of primary care.
Nurse practitioners will have a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a level of experience before they can move onto receiving their master’s degree in nursing. During this time, students will continue to gain experience and training before taking certification.
Heart disease in women
For some reason, people often assume that women are less prone to develop heart disease than men. However, Kristi has seen a rise in heart disease in women first-hand, and really wants to spread awareness about the issue.
To reduce your chances of getting heart disease, you need to take a closer look at your lifestyle choices. What are you putting into your body that could actually be doing more harm than good? Are you getting enough exercise? Are you giving your body the nutrition it needs to function properly?
All of these things can impact the likelihood that you develop heart disease. Taking supplements such as fish oil and high-quality omega 3 is something that Kristi strongly recommends to help lower your cholesterol.
Tips to help you prevent heart disease
Fortunately, chronic disease can be prevented and even reversed. However, because our food supply is so contaminated and over resourced, it can be difficult to give our bodies the nutrients it needs to function properly.
The answer? Healthy eating and where possible, supplements. Of course, not every supplement on the market is going to work for you, which is why it’s so important to do your research. Introducing more healthy whole foods to your diet is a must. If affordability is an obstacle for you, try to find cheaper options. Go to your local farmer’s market and seek good probiotics and supplements containing vitamin D and Omega 3 – those are Kristi’s top recommendations.
Another important lifestyle change to make if you want to prevent chronic disease is exercise. Yes, I know you’re rolling your eyes at the thought of jogging around the neighborhood, but exercise is crucial to our overall health.
Cardiovascular exercise, in particular, is so important. Squeezing a brisk walk into your day is great for your heart and your health. This helps to protect your heart and reduce your chance of having a stroke, heart attack, and/or developing diabetes, etc.
What’s stopping people from ‘getting healthy?’
As a nation, we’re suffering from an epidemic. Chronic disease is on the rise and so are things like obesity and it’s affecting people of all ages. So, why is that? And, why is it so difficult for people to quit bad habits and ‘get healthy’?
Kristi believes that our mindset has a huge role to play in this. She often has patients who express that they are ready and excited to make changes in their lives. So, she talks to them about what they can do to take the first few steps towards a positive change. However, when many of those patients come back a few weeks later, they haven’t made a single change.
The reason for people’s unwillingness to improve their own health could be due to their mindset. They’re stuck and can’t escape the ‘I can’t, so I won’t’ frame of mind. Something is stopping them from taking that first step towards a happier, healthier and toxin-free life.
To help shift this negative mindset to a positive one, Kristi suggests taking the approach that, “Life is not happening to you, it’s happening for you.” You HAVE the ability to make changes in your life. Once you realize that, you stop seeing yourself as a victim and you have the power to completely change your life.
Combining medicine with holistic approaches
Kristi faced a turning point in her life when her son became very ill. He has asthma and an IgG deficiency, which landed him in the ICU at just three years of age. His respiratory status was steadily declining and as you can imagine, this was a heart-breaking and terrifying time for Kristi and her husband.
After that, Kristi began thinking about what they could do to help him build his health. It began by taking small steps like removing all of the carpets in the house. Carpets can harbor things that could potentially be detrimental to your health, especially for a child with asthma. Kristi also minimized her son’s exposure to things like perfume and fragrances, which could potentially trigger his asthma.
Kristi started using essential oils more such as adding a few drops to her son’s bath or shower. He also started taking probiotics and vitamin D supplements to help keep his immune system as high as possible. However, because Kristi’s son needed medical assistance too, he was on an antibiotic for a year paired with IGG infusions, which shows how severe his condition was.
Through lifestyle changes, he is now only on one medication and it’s become much easier to maintain his health as a result.
Get in touch with Kristi
Kristi’s brand-new book, Black Balloons, launches in January 2020 and explores how we can all learn from one another and seek support from others, even in our darkest times.
If you’d like to get in touch with Kristi, you can follow her on Instagram @kristileecronin
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Watch a short trailer video for this episode below:
Abundant Blessings,
Aimee Carlson
The Toxin Terminator
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Thank you for sharing this,
Nancy