Read this article first, then come back here.  It's a long read, so if you're a little short on time, just read Parts 1 & 2; they are the inspiration for this post.

Now that you're back, let's get down to business!

I have a certain type of patient who comes in.  I call them my "zombies." 

They know that I call them this.

We joke about it.

But really, it's not funny.  (I'm just the sort of person to laugh rather than cry when I'm in a serious situation)  These women (it's always been women so far) come to me exhausted, depressed and cold.  They can't get enough layers of clothing to be warm.  Many of them also have digestive complaints.  When I look at them through my Chinese Medical Eye, they're pale and they have no pulse, hence the teasing about being a zombie.

There's always one thing that ties these women together:  they have some sort of a nutritional deficiency.  For some it's a consequence of a disease that makes their bodies unable to absorb the proper nutrients.  For many, it's a consequence of being vegetarian or vegan and not getting enough of the right nutrients.

It's not that I'm on a crusade to enforce a certain way of eating.  I don't care one way or another what a person's eating habits are - until those habits start effecting their health in a negative way.

People never like to hear nutritional advice.  Especially when it goes against their morals or excludes their favorite foods.  But I often find myself having to suggest some pretty extreme changes.  That they add animal products back into their meatless diet.  Or that they stop eating dairy or gluten or sugar.

And even though I'm always nervous for these talks, many times the response I get is, "I knew you were going to recommend something like this.  I think it's time to try it."

Sometimes it takes hitting bottom to realize that we've got to try something new.

And that's okay.  We can't know what will work for us until we try it, right?

We're all different.  We can eat different things and get very different results.  We can exercise different amounts and in different ways and get very different results.  The trick is to find our own set of "different" so that we can be our vibrant, energetic, lovely selves.  And be understanding of each others' "differents," so that we can all be the best that we can be.