Cassie Bjork - Why Mold, Parasites, Lyme and Toxins Could Be Blocking Your Energy Levels and How to Heal it!

Episode 64:

Ep 64 Why Mold, Parasites Lyme and Toxins Could Be Blocking Your Energy Levels and

How to Heal it! With Cassie Bjork and Evan Hirsch, MD

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 00:08

Hey everybody, welcome back to the energy MD podcast where we are on a mission to

help a million people increase their energy naturally without prescription so they can

have more fun and more success in every aspect of their lives. So, really excited. As you

guys know, I love talking about the different causes of low energy and fatigue. And we're

going to be talking about some more today with my friend Cassie Bjork. So let's learn a

little bit about Cassie. So she is a globally recognized industry leader in weight loss, the

CEO of redefined weight loss and redefined vitamins A highly sought after speaker

number one internationally International Best Selling Author of why am I still fat, the

hidden keys to unlocking this stubborn weight loss. A Registered Dietitian for over a

decade, Cassie has helped 1000s of people achieve the bodies they want, by

supercharging their metabolism, mastering their mindset and unlocking their weight

loss. She also helps dietitians build profitable freedom based businesses they love.

Virtually every major media outlet has featured Kathy's debunking of health and dieting

lies, as she shares the truth about food, weight loss and supplements. Cassie, thanks so

much for joining me today.

Cassie Bjork 01:25

Thanks for having me. I'm really grateful to be here.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 01:27

So we're going to be talking about mold parasites, lime, and toxins that could be

blocking your energy levels and how to heal it. Yes. When you mentioned the name of

my book, I was thinking yes. Why am I still fat, the hidden keys to unlocking that

stubborn weight loss. And there's so many hidden keys, I like to think about it as kind of

like this big puzzle. And with everyone, you know, that comes to me. It's like weight loss

and low energy are usually their top two struggles. And my goal is to figure out, well,

where are the missing puzzle pieces, like what pieces are out of place? What ones are

totally missing? And what do we have to do to get that puzzle back together, which is,

you know, our body?

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 02:07

Oh, love that. So let's talk a little bit about these hidden keys or there's some myths or

some, some hidden things that right off the bat are things you're looking for when you

first see somebody.

Cassie Bjork 02:19

Yeah, I usually kind of look at the person's, you know, main symptoms, they might say

weight loss, they might say, low energy, a lot of times they say they have, you know,

sugar cravings. And those are definitely all clues to what can be going on. I think like the

number one thing that I see, and almost every single person that I've helped lose weight,

that's really a surprise to them is inflammation. And you know, we hear about it like in

the functional medicine based world, but a lot of you know, doctors and dieticians and

practitioners aren't really talking about it. And I think it can be really confusing for people

because, you know, we think of inflammation as like, we get a you know, we get a paper

cut, we stub our toe, there might be some swelling and some redness and it heals. But

what you know, what I'm finding is that the chronic inflammation that festers deep

inside, that's a result of, you know, toxicity and potentially pathogens and dieting over

and over and over exercise. Even just like you know, the things that we touch and the air

that we breathe everyday, the products we use, there's so many things that can cause

inflammation, but we can't see it, and we can't feel it. So you know, if I bring it up right

away, the women that I work with are usually like I don't have inflammation, like I've seen

pretty healthy. And so I think that's like one of the big surprises as you know, when, when

when people come to me to lose weight, they just a lot of times we'll think it's got to just

be like the diet that I just haven't discovered, even though they've usually tried like every

single diet under the sun, you know, and dieting, and in some ways, like can work short

term, but the people that I help are just sick of being in that cycle. They're sick of the low

energy, the cravings for sugar and carbs and having to start over again and again. And

they're like, What is going on in my body, like, they usually know that there's like

something there that they're missing. And these are usually really smart people that

have done a lot of research, they have a lot of information. Some of them are doctors or

even dieticians themselves, and they feel, you know, kind of shameful that here, they are

asking for help when they're basically an expert themselves. And even if they don't have

the credentials, they usually feel like an expert because they've spent so many hours,

you know, scoring the internet for, you know, the right the right diet or the right exercise

regimen. And the reality is we're just not given all of the information and a lot of the

things that are actually, you know, blockers have our weight loss blockers have great

energy levels, blockers of our bodies just performing how I believe that they were

designed to these things aren't things that are just commonly talked about, like

parasites, like Lyme disease like biotoxin illness, which is, you know, mold I mean, these

are things that a lot of times people are shocked to hear or even think that that could be

something blocking them from reaching their goals because otherwise a lot of times

they kind of feel like they're like a

Cassie Bjork 05:00

relatively healthy person, but then when we really get down to it, it's like, there's actually

a lot of things going on. And all your systems in your body affect other systems. And I

think that's another big downfall of like the dieting industry is, it's the belief that, you

know, calories in calories out, just exercise more and eat less. And as long as you're in

that deficit, you're going to lose weight. And you know, to some extent, it can work that

way. And of course, diet and exercise are two pieces of a big puzzle. But your body is so

much more complex than that, we've got to look at your gut health, that's where your

immune function starts, your metabolism starts craving start, we've got to look at, you

know, your body's ability to detox and clear out pathogens and toxins, we've got to look

at your hormones, your thyroid function, which is the master of your metabolism, if you

have a slow thyroid, it's going to be difficult, you know, to lose weight, if your hormones

are out of balance, your hormones are the foundation of your entire body. And there's so

many of them. And people have no idea, you know that they have inflammation or

imbalanced hormones, or an underactive thyroid, so there's all these different areas, and

then when we start to look at it that way, people are like, Well, no wonder, I'm struggling,

I think it actually can provide some relief, because a lot of times, the people I help are

like, good luck figuring me out, because, you know, I'm a unique snowflake, because no

one can figure me out. And, you know, my body must just be really stubborn. And it's like,

you know, the reality is, yes, we are unique snowflakes. And our bodies are actually, you

know, designed similarly, in a lot of ways. So that's why a lot of the, you know, protocols

that I've used on women over a decade, like they're similar, you know, we do, we can

personalize for sure, because everybody has different things that are off balance, and

everybody has different health histories and environments. And a lot of the main things

are still the main things, we want to be supporting our immune function, we want to be

healing, inflammation that can be festering deep within nothing with inflammation to

that I like to kind of explain it like, it's like there's a fire in your body. And your body's

main priority is always to stay alive. So if there's a fire in your body, your body's not going

to give you great energy, it's going to be drained by trying to put out this fire, it's not

going to, you know, be burning fat all day long. Because all those resources are trying to

put out this fire. So the more we can support your body, in the healing process and

keeping your metabolism up and your immunity up and inflammation down, you know,

the better results, you're gonna see it not just in your waistline, but in just your body

overall, and how clearly you think and your moods and your energy levels and consistent

energy levels, how you sleep, you know, how stressed out you feel, and just how you

show up in this world. And I think at the end of the day, that's the goal. You know, I

believe we're meant to live an amazing life. And we're meant to live life to its fullest. And

so many people are struggling with things that they really don't need to be struggling

with. Because we just need to get to the root cause. And when we heal from the inside

out, that's where real freedom comes.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 07:57

I love that there were so many mic drops in there.

Cassie Bjork 08:01

Just kept going.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 08:03

You know, I think especially the idea that if you want to lose weight, you got to look at

mould line parasites toxins.

Cassie Bjork 08:12

Yeah, absolutely. And these are things people don't really think about, and are pretty

surprising, but they could be struggling with yet. Over 60% of people have parasites. And

it's like we do worm, our animals, our pets. But a lot of times we don't even think about

that could be something that we're struggling with. And then same way, you know, most

people don't know much about Lyme disease and about mold and you know, and they all

kind of work together. Usually if we're struggling with wine, we're struggling with one of

the other and also symptoms can present. Similarly in Lyme, and mold. It's a lot of

cognitive function stuff, brain fog, fatigue, moodiness, anger, rage. And then with

parasites, it can kind of seem like usually people think something is off, and they're just

not sure what it is. It's a lot of the mood stuff though, because even parasites can

actually manipulate your mind and they can cause cravings because they thrive off of

sugar and carbs. So people will have these intense cravings. And when you're actually

getting physical cravings, it's really difficult to not give in to them. So I always tell people

that like give yourself grace, like if someone just tells you, even if you're on a diet and it's

like just don't eat these things, while usually want to eat the things that we're told not to

eat. And if our body is physically telling us to if there's parasites in our body,

manipulating our mind is sending signals to tell us to eat carbs and sugar, it's really

really difficult to win that battle. So we kind of have to, you know, give ourselves grace

and also, you know, address address it by like attacking and binding and detoxing and

there's a whole process to really go through. But we want to support our body from a lot

of different angles and I think it can be confusing because a lot of times like symptoms,

they're not necessarily like these huge like

Cassie Bjork 09:59

You know, you wake up one day and you can't move your legs and you end up in the ER,

you know, like, huge, huge things. A lot of times, it's just like, Yeah, I've had a lot of

cravings, I haven't felt like myself, personality changes are pretty big, you know,

parasites, and a lot of times with parasites, you know, they release toxins in the human

bloodstream. And they can cause you know, constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating,

nausea, but people might just think, you know, kind of felt sick lately, not really sure why.

So it can be difficult to really pinpoint. And with lab testing, a lot of these things aren't

really going to show up on labs. And the thing about labs is we're kind of, I feel like as a

society, we're kind of programmed to want to see the data. And I love data. So I'm not

against that. But testing, you know, like for Lyme disease, it's really difficult because the

infection can hide in these biofilms in our body and spread throughout our body.

Parasites often missed on lab tests.

Cassie Bjork 10:56

And you know, and also with parasites, Lyme and mold, they all are really good at hiding

in the body, like parasites are super sneaky and smart, they can actually hide in this

biofilm structure that protects them from your body's defenses. So it's kind of like

they're invisible to your immune system. And then they'll develop relationships with

other pathogens, and they'll kind of they're resilient, there was actually like a study done

where they, a worm was defrosted from, like 42,000 years ago, and this is just going to

sound insane. So people can look this up. And it was defrosted on a petri dish. And then

when they did that, it actually began to move and eat. Like, that's crazy, like, these

critters are so resilient. So the other thing is, you know, before we even get into, get get

deeper, just knowing that like, this can take time, it's not usually just like a quick, it's

never an overnight fix. And just with anything with our health and our bodies and

making, you know, lifestyle changes, we have to give ourselves grace and be patient and

consistent and not perfect. You know, I think it can be overwhelming for people because

and especially with like, you know, past dieting mentalities, and what we're being

brainwashed with, it's like, we have to be perfect have to do everything, right. So

sometimes, then people just won't do anything. And it's like, you know, it's really

important to just get started help support your body, and you don't have to be perfect

and give yourself Grace along the way to.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 12:22

Brilliant. Yeah. So in terms of addressing some of these things, you're a rd a registered

dietician, right? How is your approach going to be different than a functional medicine

doctor?

Cassie Bjork 12:36

I think, you know, conventional, doctors oftentimes will throw antibiotics and drugs at

things which can have, you know, a time and a place sometimes. But I think the holistic

approach is really about addressing all your body's systems and getting to the root so

that you feel better overall, and you don't kill your gut with antibiotics in the process, and

it's just supporting all your different systems. So as far as you know, how I'm different

from a functional medicine doctor, I might not be that different, my approach is probably

pretty similar and pretty, pretty aligned. A lot of times if like, it's a really complex case,

then they might also be working in conjunction with a functional medicine doctor, and

then I might be supporting a lot with like, you know, the nutrition and the supplements

and really helping them personalize that regimen. If there's, you know, if there are, you

know, in sometimes there are medications involved, sometimes there sometimes

someone is put on an antibiotic or like right when they, you know, get Lyme disease, and

that's not always a terrible thing. So in that case, they might also be working with the

doctor and the process to, but it's kind of more of like, the whole mentality of Do you

want to heal your body do you want to really get well, it's really not just about, you know,

eradicating the critters out, it's really about making every system in your body work

better and healing the damage that was done. And that's how we can really, I think,

show up as our best and feel our most confident and have great energy levels and be

sleeping while and just be you know, thriving in life. It's not really just about getting rid

of, I hear people like in addiction recovery, talk about that, too. Like it's really not just

about getting rid of the addiction and breaking free from you know, alcohol or sugar

addiction or workaholism, or whatever it might be, it's also about like rediscovering

yourself as a whole and I think that can apply with whether you want to call it sickness

or just you know, overcoming history and a mindset of dieting and viewing you know, the

our relationship with food and our relationship with ourselves. A lot of times when

people have been you know, following a diet for years and then or if they've been sick for

years, you know, putting a label on themselves like as a person that has Lyme disease or

is a sick person like we're we need to um brainwash ourselves from that we need to

overcome that and really step into the identity of I'm healthy, like I'm not sick, like my

body is healing and I'm powerful and my body has the ability to heal and I think in our

you know, conventional manner

Cassie Bjork 15:00

Plus system. That's not exactly the mindset. And the mindset is more of like, here's a

pill, you know, here's, here's a potion, you're getting older, your metabolism slowing down

as you get older, weight gain as normal, you know, all these symptoms with menopause

and things that they tell women, you know, they say it's normal. And it's like, it's

common, but it's not normal. And there, there's a big difference, you know, someone who

has, who suffers from any disease, there are things that are common, but we don't have

to make that the norm, we can still support our body in as many ways as we can. So I

think in everything that I do, I'm always trying to work in the mindset components too.

And I think it can sound a little fluffy. And I don't always like to just talk about mindset.

The reality is, it's so important, because our words are powerful. And our body really, in a

lot of ways becomes what we tell it. So you know, someone who's followed diets their

whole life, they might start my program, and they might start seeing results. And then

they kind of freak out. I've seen this happen before, and they don't, they start to self

sabotage. And they're like, I don't know what I'm doing. Like, I'm finally losing weight.

This is what I've wanted, I'm starting to feel good. And I just keep, like binging and doing,

I don't even have cravings, I just find myself destroying all the progress I've made. And I

think it's a common thing, because we're not always given the support, like on the

mindset level as well. And even like the spiritual level, it's like, a lot of times, it's just like,

let's fix the problem. And then you're on your way. I think there's just so much value and

looking at our body as a whole and every day becoming more of like, who we are and

who we're meant to be. And stepping into that.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 16:37

Yeah, about a year ago, we implemented mindset, as well as emotional support for folks

who are going through the program. And that was a lot of the journey that I had been on,

you know, when I had my fatigue, and I came through it, some of the major things that I

learned were how to improve my emotional health, but my mindset, so we have like a

four step mindset process that we take people through, you talked a little bit about the

mindset, can you tell us any other tips? Like if there was one thing about mindset that

you would want to convey to people today? What would it be what would be a practice

that they should start, I think in line with everything I just said, affirmations are a big one.

And I, I always do this, like the first week of any my programs, and I always preface it

with like, I know, you're probably gonna roll your eyes at this because it doesn't sound

you know, like rocket science. And it might not even sound that powerful. But it is

amazing. When someone picks one or two affirmations.

Cassie Bjork 17:34

Like, you know, my body is healing. And every day I make the right choices to heal it.

That's just a simple sentence. And you write that in a post it note, a bunch of post it

notes, and you stick that on your mirror on your alarm clock on the fridge, like on the

cabinets on the door. So you see it on your way out. And you actually you know, say it

when you see it. That's just that's so powerful. You know, I've had women talk about how

they'll go to the snack cupboard to like emotionally eat. And they'll they'll read that post

it note, like I make choices that honor my body, every day and everything that I do, and

they think about it, and it's like, Yeah, this isn't going to honor my body and you can still

make the choice. So I always tell people, it's kind of also like, there's there's a couple of

parts to it. Number one is like we're reprogramming in our brain, we're on brainwashing

ourselves from things that aren't true, like fat is bad for you, you know, that's not true.

That's, that's a myth, we need to unbraid wash ourselves and realize that fat is really

supportive of our metabolism, it's really supportive of our brain and for our body. You

know, calories aren't bad, calories are good, they fuel our body, and they give us energy

and they boost our metabolism if they're the right one, so on brainwashing ourselves

from things like that, but also, you know, when you're like when you're when you're

pausing to like, say an affirmation, you're creating space. So I had this doctor who was

trying to lose weight. And her biggest thing was the break room at work, always had

donuts and cookies and birthday cake and all of the things and she just could not walk

by it without going in and having something and she just, you know, she was just like, I

it's just something I'm really not able to do right now. And she's like, I don't want you to

tell me not to do it, because I can't not do it. So we decided, let's just create a little bit of

space, you know, you can still go into the break room, but how about you, you know, go

past the break room and like, you know, write down an affirmation, read one of your

affirmations just kind of like get just take a pause just for even like 30 seconds or a

minute. So she would do that she would walk right past it, she'd go to the bathroom, and

she'd go one of the stalls. And she'd you know, take out her phone and she'd read one of

her affirmations. And then she would go back in the break room and binge on whatever

sugary carbee foods were in there. And we just kept adding space. So eventually, she

would go see a patient in between. And then she would go see a couple of patients in

between. And then eventually she didn't even go into the break room like she felt so

empowered that she could just walk right by it and not go inside of it and she could say

an affirmation in her head. And so it's not always about just changing everything in the

moment. And I think we can be so hard

Cassie Bjork 20:00

Don't ourselves to and that's the other thing. I think I've already said it, but giving

yourself grace. And I don't take that lightly. Because we're so hard on ourselves in

general, it's like, why can't I stick to this diet? Or do this thing? And why won't my body

just get better? Why is it taking so long? I hear that a lot. Why is it taking so long and so I

always try to set the expectation that when you're healing from the inside out, it's going

to take longer, and the beautiful thing is, you're not going to have to start over, you're

always building and making progress, like a diet, for example, you know, if weight loss is

your goal, and you're doing a diet, you know, once you stop the diet, a lot of times you

gain the weight back and more, because you've messed up your metabolism, and now

your body doesn't trust you. And when you start the diet, again, it's harder. And because

it's damaged your metabolism. So you know, we're not we're not in that cycle anymore.

Now we're actually healing our body from within, we're balancing out our systems. And

so if you go off track a little bit, you can, you're still building, you didn't undo everything

that you did. Um, and so I think part of part of, you know, the mindset component is just

checking in, you know, throughout the day, setting reminders on your phone, you know, I

have reminders on my phone that actually say affirmations, it's like, it's just an alarm on

my phone, but it pops up, and I turn it off, but I read the affirmation first. And so creating

space can be a huge thing. And that can be with anything. I mean, like something like

coffee enemas, for example, a great, great way to help your body detox and get rid of,

you know, eliminate toxins and, you know, someone's constipated, that's, you know, not a

good thing, because then we're keeping toxins inside, we want to get those out. So if

someone's not having at least one bowel movement, ideally, two good bowel

movements a day, I might recommend that they do some coffee enemas to help, you

know, get things going. And that can be like a scary big thing for people. It was for me

when I did my first one, no knock the whole thing a coffee over and I had it all over my

bathroom floor. And I never wanted to do it again. But like, you know, maybe small steps,

maybe it's not doing that a few times a week, maybe it's just like once a week, and then

you start adding it in more. Or even like, you know, in the infrared sauna, great way to

detox, great way to sweat out, can toxins come out through our sweat, and through our

poop. So there's like the two things I want people doing. Sweating and pooping. And

Asana, like for people that are pretty blocked in their detox pathways, it can be difficult.

And so some people start with five or 10 minutes in the sauna, you know, I'll do 90

minute sessions. But I don't, I wasn't always able to do 90 minute sessions, I worked up

to that. So it's giving yourself grace and starting, we always say slow and low with, you

know, with supplements, with detoxing, with most things, and not everybody has that

approach. And I can understand people wanting to hit it hard. But also HERC seen

Herxheimer reactions are also a real thing. And that can happen when we're not

supporting our body in the way that needs to be when we're releasing toxins. So the best

way to avoid that is to, you know, go slow, see how your body is tolerating, you know

different protocols and modalities, because everybody is different. One person can

tolerate something really well, I mean, to the other person, that's gonna cause them to

feel really sick. So also, you know, not necessarily just comparing and, you know, paying

attention to your own body and your own, like personalized approach. And we work on

that as we go.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 23:18

Yeah, you're totally speaking my language here. You know, baby steps. Yeah, it's a

marathon, not a sprint, body, like small changes. You know, these are things that we

repeat time and time again. And I'm so glad that you brought that up about the

Herxheimer reaction or the die off reaction where, you know, we we tell people, we want

you to feel badly about this much, you know, just a little bit. So we know that you're

feeling badly. And we know that something's happening, right? But not so much where it

derails you. Because if you don't set things up for success, which I want to talk about

next with you, if you don't set things up for success, then you end up with, you know, one

step forward, five steps back instead of five steps forward, one step back. So that's how

you set people up for success?

Cassie Bjork 24:03

I think I think setting expectations is important. So like I said, acknowledging, it's gonna

be it's gonna be a journey. And I always want people to be honest with themselves with

me with any other practitioners. Like, because our goal is to help you. And if there's

something you're not willing to do, or you know, you're not going to do it. You know, it's

like, I remember, like, like, being, you know, in, I don't know, like, with my physical

therapist, years ago, when I threw my shoulder out, would tell me to do all these things

in my head. I knew I wasn't going to do them. But I said, Okay, I'll do them. And I left. I

didn't do them. So and I don't want anyone to ever, you know, like I can, I can handle if

someone doesn't want to do something that I'm recommending, if they're not going to

eat something I'm telling them to eat, that's okay. I'd rather just like know that upfront,

and I want them to be honest with themselves too. You know, and I love when people

have really big goals. And also we want to make sure we're setting out action steps that

we're actually able to do and aren't overwhelming because like I said a lot people, if

there's too many things, they just get into kind of like analysis, paralysis and overwhelm,

and they just don't do anything. And that's not going to help either. So I think setting

expectations up, and everyone goes at a different pace and recognizing that, and life

happens. So you might have these big dreams and goals and actually truly be

motivated. And then something comes up. And, you know, maybe you did slide back a

little bit, and that's okay, too. So I think it's all part of like, you know, giving ourselves

grace, being honest about our process. And, you know, if something like, you know, the

diafra reactions come up, they can make you feel pretty miserable. And it doesn't mean

the protocol is not working, it actually means the protocol probably is working to signal

from the body that, you know, your body just needs more support. And so slowing down

and backing off, that's not a bad thing, either, because we don't want anyone to feel

horrible, otherwise, you're not going to continue, I wouldn't. So I'm just really being Yeah,

I think just being open and honest and communicative. doing the best you can, but also,

not, you know, stressing about it, because stress can backfire, too. You know, I tell my

weight loss clients that stress, if you're stressed about it, we're actually working against

what we're trying to do. Because, you know, cortisol is a stress hormone, that spike can

cause you to gain weight without eating any differently without exercising any

differently. That increases your blood sugar's and that gets stored as fat. So you can

actually gain weight from being stressed out. And that's not even mentioning, stress

eating. So, or not even mentioning other hormones that are, that are thrown off when

we're stressed out like ghrelin and leptin, which are hunger and are full of hormones,

which cause us to eat more, and when we're stressed out or eat less. So it's, you know,

it's like, we have to kind of, yeah, just go just go slow. And, you know, learn as much as

you can. Also, I think another thing is not needing to be perfect. I see people that they

want to know every detail, they want to know every answer to every potential question,

and they create situations that never actually happen. And then they stress over time as

if they're happening. And it's like, let's just get started, you know, let's not wait until

January 1, or next Monday, let's just get started now. And then we can assess

roadblocks and attack them, tackle them as they come up, if they come up, but they

might not come up. And the ones that come up might be ones we didn't even think

about. So there's really no need to put energy into things that haven't happened yet. And

that can apply to life in general, not even just health, but you know, situations in life,

because I do it myself, I'll play out a scenario in my mind of something that never

actually even happens. And it was just really a waste of my energy. So I think just also

just learning to take life as it comes in general, and then applying that to health as well.

And we can, it's good to be proactive, and it's good to be prepared. But um, we don't

have to be too prepared, because we don't always know what's gonna, what's gonna

come in, and when it does, we can work on it.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 27:51

Yeah, we find that a lot of people in our program are perfectionists or have

perfectionistic tendencies. And so we actually we have a journaling practice four days a

month. And we actually we're in the middle of it right now, where we're talking about

perfectionism and having people journal about it. But yeah, it's, it's one of those things

where, you know, we it served us when we were dealing with our parents when they told

us not to do something, and we were perfect at not doing that thing, right? Or maybe it

was in school, or college or medical school or whatever. But the reality is, is that now it's

no longer serving us. Right? And so how do we unwind that? How do we have more

compassion for ourselves? How do we love ourselves more? So yeah, I'm so glad you're

bringing that in.

Cassie Bjork 28:33

Yeah, yeah. And you know, like detoxing is hard work. Getting rid of disease, and

pathogens can be hard work. And, you know, you don't have to suffer through it. But I

think the Yeah, compassion is a big thing. The women, I mostly work with women, they

mostly have control issues, and are perfectionist. And the beautiful thing is, it's also any

health regimen is an opportunity to get to redefine yourself and how you show up for

yourself and in this world, in general. And I think I mean, a lot of what I do with my

clients, ends up affecting their lives and their relationships in their families, not just

health wise, but I even have a client right now that we're working on boundaries, with her

friends and with her family, because it affects her health, and it affects, you know, the

things that she eats, and it affects her moods, and it affects how she feels and it affects

how she sleeps. And all of those things matter. She matters. But she's used to putting

other people first and it's hard for her to stand up for herself. And then she's gotten so

much better at it and she's like, Cassie, I can't believe I never thought hiring a dietician

would end up you know, we'd end up talking about boundaries and my relationships with

my sisters and but it's all connected. And I think that's also like just kind of like a

deficiency that we have in our current medical system is separating everything out. You

see this doctor for this you see this doctor for this, this one for this and it's like, what our

body we have a whole body and everything is connected. And all of our systems affect

one another, so and so does our life. You know, we're, we're human beings, we have a lot

of a lot of things going on we have minds, we have bodies, physical bodies, and we have

souls and everything is connected. So I love that you take that approach to and you

address from all the different angles, a lot of practitioners don't.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 30:22

So you mentioned boundaries. So how does somebody know if they have a boundaries

issue?

Cassie Bjork 30:27

Oh, that's a great question. I think if they feel that icky feeling, after talking to or being

with someone, you know, that icky feeling, where you walk away, and you're just like,

Yeah, I kind of just feel icky, right, or maybe violated or, like, I wish I would have said

something different. I'm not sure what I feel like a lot of times, a lot of times with people,

it's, it's with their families, families tend to be the hardest ones to set boundaries with

not always, but a lot of times. And so um, I mean, even like, for an example, kind of like a

nutrition example is people will get worried about going to holiday celebrations,

because, you know, grandma, or Aunt Sally expects me to eat the pumpkin pie, I don't

even like the pumpkin pie, but she's gonna be so mad if I don't eat it, or she's gonna feel

really bad, I don't want to make her feel bad, I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. And

those are, that's real. And I love that I love that someone would care so much about

another person to consider eating something that they either, you know, don't don't want

to eat, or it's not on their nutrition plan. And they, you know, it's not worth it for them.

And I think it's like, it's important to to be able to learn how to make someone feel loved,

but then also holding your own boundary. And your boundary might be you know, I've

been, I've been on a healing regimen. And I love to eat this. And I'm sure it's amazing. It

always is, and it's not, you know, I'm not gonna, I'm not going to be able to do that this

year.

Cassie Bjork 31:51

Or, you know, it rolls over into so many other areas, you know, not wanting to have

maybe like the mother in law over over the holidays. So you might just say, you know,

we're too busy, we've got too much going on, well, then she might come back and say,

Oh, I can help with all that stuff. No worries. And then she ends up at the house anyway.

And now the person is feeling resentful. And I think resentment is another sign that you

need to work on your boundaries. Because if you're resenting someone for something

that you said yes to. And I've done this before, I've said yes to things on my calendar,

and then the day comes and I'm feeling kind of resentful. And then I look at myself in the

mirror, I'm like, It's actually my fault. I'm the one who said yes, let your Yes be Yes. And

your no be No. And of course, it's easier said than done. But I think that it really can

apply to any health regimen. Because, you know, we have to really stand up for

ourselves and our bodies. Another interesting thing too, I heard that parasites are like a

boundary, it's like a boundary issue. So it's funny that you bring that up, because I heard

that like parasites, they are infesting your body, and you're essentially giving them

permission in a way. You're like letting them violate your boundaries. I heard that people

that suffer from parasites, which like I said, over 60% of people have them. So it could

be a lot of us, I heard that a lot of times they ended up having boundary issues in life in

general. And I don't know if there's actually like solid research behind that. But I

remember at a conference, I heard about that. And I thought, well, that's interesting,

because you kind of look at that correlation, you know, these diseases that these bugs

that inhabit our bodies, and it's like, are we letting them live there? You know, and

parasites are super stubborn. Like when you try to kill them, they fight back. And so a lot

of times, it's not even just like, you know, a herx reaction, it can also be the parasites,

they don't want to die. So they're gonna try to make you stop your protocol. And

sometimes things get worse before they get better. And people might want to quit. And I

always say, just keep keep pushing through, because sometimes it gets harder. But the

breakthroughs on the other side, you know, we just have to keep being diligent even

when it's hard. Not can and that can be really hard.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 33:56

Agreed. There's a couple of things that you said in there that I wanted to comment on. I

love talking about the boundaries and talking about your make your yes and your no...

Be a no, is that what you said?

Cassie Bjork 34:10

Yeah, yeah.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 34:11

And, and there's a lot of research on people who say no more often are healthier. They're

more successful. I think it was Warren Buffett, who said people who say no, a lot are

successful people who say no, all the time are really successful. And the reality is, is

that when you're saying no to something, you're saying yes to something else. And

oftentimes you're saying yes to yourself, right?

Cassie Bjork 34:35

Yeah. Yep. I love that. Yeah. My favorite. My friends tease me because they have a line

that they say that I've coined I don't think I coined it, or I don't think I didn't trademark it.

But um, my line is I'm not available for that. And it's a I mean, no is a full sentence, but a

lot of times people kind of want to like justify or explain. You don't have to explain

anything. So if someone asked me to do something, and I don't want to do it. I'll just say

no, I'm, you know, I'm not available for that. And you know, I might say like, you know,

thanks for asking, I hope you can find someone, I'm not available for that. So it doesn't

have to be short or rude. And you also don't have to provide an explanation or

justification. You know, you don't know me if you want to, you can. And sometimes

people do at first when they're getting when they're developing their boundary setting

skills. But you don't have to even explain No, is a complete answer. Yeah, I love that you

said that.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 35:28

Hopefully, that everybody who's hearing this right now has taken that to heart and they

start to implement it, you know, one of the things that I've learned and in the therapy that

I've been going through, is that I'm not responsible for other people's feelings. Because

that's been a big thing. I've kind of like bent over backwards. And, you know, really trying

to make sure I'm taking care of everybody. And everything's part of the reason probably

why I became a doctor, right. And so. So that's one, that's a really good practice for me

to remember. And I encourage everybody who's kind of in a similar situation to latch on

to one of these tools, put them on a sticky note, sticky note, like you were talking about,

set a reminder on your phone, so that, you know, if you are in one of these relationships,

where you realize that, you know, you have these boundary issues, you're not saying no,

as much as you want to, that you can have the confidence to know that, hey, you're not

alone. Lots of people deal with this and have a tool in order to be able to move forward

and take care of yourself.

Cassie Bjork 36:27

I love that. And I think even with like that increases confidence, like the more we say, No,

it actually increases confidence in us and standing for our own truth and holding our

boundaries. And I love what you said about we're not responsible for other people's

reactions. We don't have to manage them. Yes, we can care about people. We can love

people, we can care about their feelings, and we don't have to manage them. I

remember I used that line. A few years ago, this guy at the gym asked me on a date. And

I said no, I appreciate that. I'm not available for that. And he was like, dude, boyfriend.

And I was like, No. And he like, he wanted an explanation. I felt kind of mean, I felt like

maybe I should like explain. And I also realized, like, I didn't, I didn't owe an explanation.

And I was nice. You know, I said, I appreciate that, you know, unless that's brave for you

to ask. I think I said that. And I said, and and and I tried to use the word and instead of

but that's another kind of like subtle shift that I shifted a few years back that I've noticed

has been pretty powerful. Because generally I feel like the word but kind of negates

everything you just said. So instead of saying, you know, I'm not available for that, but I

say I'm not available for that. And, you know, and also like, I appreciate it. So and I think

that this also, I mean with like a health regimen, talking to yourself and your body, like,

you know, even just like like, No, I'm not going to give in and just go eat all the sugar in

the cupboards, I'm not going to do that. My body is worth so much more than that I

honor my body every day. And yeah, I can have a snack if I'm hungry, and I feel like it but

I'm not going to treat my body like trash. And I think just like even just speaking like

confidently and firmly like that is so powerful. It can you know, to other people, yes, but

also to ourselves. And when we're on a health regimen that can be difficult. Yes, it can

be difficult. That's why a lot of people give up and a lot of people don't push through, but

they also don't get the breakthrough that's on the other side. You know, like when it

comes to, you know, weight loss and like healing, inflammation and healing, you know,

getting rid of, you know, parasites, you know, Lyme, toxins, mold, like these are like long,

long, longer term things. And everyone that I've talked to who's seen success, they

always say there was a point where I wanted to give up, there was a point where I was

questioning like, is it working and you know, your mind can play all these games. And

that's why we've talked so much about mindset today and how important that is. But

you just I always say borrow somebody else's testimonial. You know, listen to it works. It

works for other people, like it can work for you, too. And so I'm pushing through those

times, because anything that's worth anything that's worth it is usually not easy to

obtain.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 39:05

Yeah, I remember a meditation teacher one time talking about the monkey mind. And

about so much of our thoughts are child consciousness. And so it's it is, you know, it's

the child that's being impetuous, or saying I want that sweet. And like how would you

respond if your child was actually saying that, you know, if you're a parent, you know, I,

my 14 year old grabs for something and I'm like, Hey, can you make a better choice?

Cassie Bjork 39:34

Yeah.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 39:35

Right? You know, what if we were to actually talk to ourselves about that, you know, so

much of this is about taming that mind and actually having it focus on things that serve

us, right.

Cassie Bjork 39:44

Yeah. And I think, you know, Joe Dispenza says that we have like, 70,000 thoughts a day.

And like, maybe it's even more It might even be like 90,000 thoughts a day, and 90% are

the same ones we had yesterday. So I think that's why it's so important that every day

we just programmed our mind a little bit, maybe it's just sticking to one affirmation a

day, and maybe we'll work on that affirmation for a month, and then maybe it's another

one. But really, we have to think about the way that we're thinking. Because there's also

a set point theory with our weight, which is the theory that our body wants to go back, it

always wants to stay at a certain weight, it's, you know, it's not gonna, it's not going to

want to lose weight. And that's why it can be difficult to push through a plateau, and to

basically re reset, you know, our bodies set point. And I think our minds are like that, too.

You know, we have to actually like, train them to think differently. And we have to rewire

our brains in in a lot of ways. And it's possible, but we do have to be diligent about

replacing, you know, replacing negative thoughts with positive ones believing in

ourselves that we, we can do this. And when we say to ourselves, I don't want to do this,

I want to give up, you know, this sucks, even just even just like that mentality of like, this

sucks, I can't eat anything. I'm sensitive to everything, I have to be honest diet. What if

we reframe that, like, I have the opportunity to eat foods that are going to heal my body,

and my body is healing in the process, like it's such a different, it's basically saying the

same thing. But it's a different approach to it. And that positioning can make all the

difference.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 41:10

So good. So let's talk a little bit about getting back to the physical stuff about parasites.

And one of the one of the questions that I always like to ask people is, what is your

favorite Herxheimer support? What do you find that's super helpful for people, when they

hit those bumps in the road, you're killing an infection, you're removing a toxin, and

they're not feeling well.

Cassie Bjork 41:32

I think binders are like your secret weapon. They basically mop up the toxins being

released, and they can dramatically reduce like the die off reaction. So you know, and

what you're doing is when you're killing these pathogens, they're released into your

bloodstream. And so that can really make you feel, you know, terrible. And so taking the

binders is going to help you know, pull those out. So I like the Cell Core one they have

biotoxin binder, we have one called detox redefined, that one is not quite as intense.

Ours, I normally recommend for people that if they have a glass of wine or two in the

evening, take a couple detox redefine before you go to bed at night to help just support

your body in that when it comes to something like, you know, mold, parasites, candida,

lyme, I do think the biotoxin binders are really a really good one. And they formulate it,

you know, in a way where it's really well tolerated. So some people find that binders

make them feel sick or make them constipated. And I've never really had anyone that

seems to have any issues with that selcourt. One. Nice. And so do you just keep

ramping up the dose depending on what symptoms people are having? Yeah, exactly.

And if they can tolerate the binder, which like I said, I everyone seems to be able to, I

would say start with two or three. And the great thing about that one is you can take it

with food. So because it can be tough, a lot of supplements, it's like you have to take on

an empty stomach. And then, you know, well, how do you have any time to eat. And

when you really map out supplements and stuff that you're taking a look at your

regimen. So what I like about that one is, you know, you can take it anytime you can take

it with food, even for people that have kind of already gone through the healing process.

I mean, like myself included, I usually take a couple of those at some point throughout

the day, because it helps with mycotoxins, which are from mold. And over half the

buildings in the US are moldy. So there's a chance like almost every day when I'm out

and about that I'm entering somewhere that has mold in the building. And I want to get

that out of my body as fast as I can. So not really necessarily just for just for avoiding

the hurts reactions. But yes, I mean, if you do get a reaction, and if you do notice a die

off reaction, just upping the binder. And you can take those several times throughout the

day, you can take I've had people take you know four or five at a time, usually someone

doesn't even really need that many. So I always try to go with like as low of a dose as

possible to get the maximum effect. So usually two or three is a great place to start. So

what's the highest dose you've ever had somebody on for a period of time, sounds like

four or 534 times a day, something like that. I've gone to eight or nine. Myself and I've

had other people like because I've been I've known that I was exposed to mold. There's

homes of pupils that I can like, I can smell that it's musty in there, and I know there's

mold in there. So I go to someone's house for an evening or for a day. And I can tolerate

that stuff really well for some people that might make them usually constipation is

which isn't like a huge deal. You know, you can take magnesium and magnesium citrate

and help you know help with that. But um, because I think that I think mycotoxins in the

body are kind of like a bigger a bigger deal. So I would come home and you know,

maybe take like eight or nine and then maybe a few hours later, like I'll keep it on my

nightstand. So if it's in the evening, if I happen to wake up in the middle the night or first

thing in the morning, I'll take another handful, which I know sounds kind of crazy, but you

probably you know again, you probably don't need that many, but because I can tolerate

that much. If it's a situation like that where I know that I've been exposed. All ramp it up,

cuz I'd rather just get that out of my body.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 45:01

Yeah. And you mentioned the cell core products, and they have, you know, the power

1-2-3-4. Have you found? Do you find that everybody needs all of them? Or do you find

that there's certain ones of those that are especially good for getting rid of parasites?

Cassie Bjork 45:17

It's a good idea. i It's a good question. I think that the the way that they all work in the

parasite kit, I recommend taking all of those together. And I think also taking them

around the full moon, because parasites come out and multiply around the full moon.

So it's a really great time for people to be getting rid of parasites, but I do recommend, I

recommend taking them together, the way that they designed that protocol, it's pretty

simple, it's laid out pretty nicely, and it works really effectively as well. And I've had

people go through it more than once. And, you know, the cool thing about that protocol,

too, is it's one of the only protocols that I've really had people on where they've seen,

they've seen worms come out, which can be scary and crazy, and also, like, really

satisfying when you're doing a protocol. And you can actually see that it's working,

because a lot of parasites are microscopic. So if you don't see anything in your stool, it

doesn't mean it's not working.

Cassie Bjork 46:14

But when you do see something, or you know, people have actually pulled them out of

their nose, it's a really great place for parasites to hide. And they, you know, they're

sneaky, and they're smart bugs, and they hide in your body and they hide in the sticky

biofilm so that they're not even always detected on tests because of that. So I think, you

know, it can be satisfying sometimes to actually be able to, to see them get released.

But if you don't, it doesn't mean that it's not working.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 46:43

Yeah, one of the controversies is the Para One product, the Mimosa pudica. Where

some people think that it's actually not worms that are coming out it is. It is either the

biofilm or it's something that the power one is binding to and kind of going out. What do

you think?

Cassie Bjork 47:02

I don't know. I wonder that same thing, because it can sometimes even look like biofilm

and biofilm. It's like, you know, because it can be so sticky. And a lot of pathogens,

pathogens will kind of like form together? I don't know. I mean, it could be boats. I mean,

and either way, let's get it out of our body. You know, let's let's, let's get it out. Biofilms

can be super stubborn. There's a product called Bio sidan, that like liquid like liposomal

product that I think can be used for biofilm disturbing as well, that can also be helpful.

And then maybe like an hour after you take that utilizing a binder like the biotoxin binder.

And then sweating I think is also good. Anytime you're on any of these protocols, I think

doing like an infrared sauna. Or, you know, if you don't have an answer in Fred's on our

access to that, even some type of exercise where you're where you're sweating to really

get out some of those toxins.

Cassie Bjork 47:52

But yeah, that's a good question. And for and for, you know, just to mention too about

biofilms. If, you know, I just think they're so interesting and super surprising for people.

It's like, you know, there's that sticky byproduct that these pathogens form, and then they

adhere to your tissues. And that's how they hide. And they really work together the

pathogens in the biofilm to overtake your immune system. That's why a lot of times

people feel sick a lot, you know, when they have these bugs that they don't know about,

and mold can actually hide in the biofilm.

Cassie Bjork 48:24

And so can Lyme as well. So, that's another thing too, is like the order of operations, I

think is important. Just to mention, because you want to you want to go after parasites

first, I think is like a big thing. And you know, and they're all kind of, they're all kind of

connected. So if you have Lyme, you don't always know it. People don't always know

they have Lyme disease until they're exposed to mold. And you know, what happens with

mold is you're basically removing the protective shield, or the lyme and a lyme can come

out in the confusing thing as if symptoms are oftentimes very similar. So you might not

know that it's Lyme, and mold, but it's kind of like you know, Lyme is loading the gun,

then when you get exposed to mold, it pulls the trigger. And you can have all these

symptoms from you know, the mold exposure. And then there's also a Lyme parasite

connection. You know, when you clear parasites, a lot of times Lyme symptoms will go

away if someone knew they had Lyme, and they were struggling with symptoms of Lyme

disease. If you clear the parasites, your body's actually I think it's because your body's

just more able to handle the Lyme because your immune system is stronger and now

you're not fighting off all these bugs. So clearing parasites can be a really great first step

and you know, any any health protocol, but also a lot of times we see breakthrough in

weight loss as we're clearing out parasites as well

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 49:38

As the blockage...

Cassie Bjork 49:39

Yes, remove all the blockages wherever they are, and there's just so many factors that

keep people unwell. So I think it's just so important to focus on all the different things

like as you're healing, your gut is so important. I mean, that's where your immune

system starts. It's where your metabolism starts. If you're getting cravings, I'm going to

parasites gosh, I mean sugar cravings can aiming for carbs are such a huge thing,

because that's their preferred food, sugar and processed carbs, and it helps them to

replicate and you know, populate in your gut. So a gut healing regimen. And typically

what I do for that is three, three things, I do glutamine, I do a probiotic. And I think fish

oil is just a great anti inflammatory overall. So the glutamine helps to heal the thin lining

of your intestinal tract. And glutamine is also a precursor for the neurotransmitters in

our brain that determine whether or not we get physical sugar cravings. So another

great thing is, you know, for anyone, whether you're struggling with, you know, parasites,

more lime or not, if you get cravings for sugar, or carbs, you might need to just support

your body in the production of these neurotransmitters so that you don't get the physical

cravings. So I always tell people, if you're getting actual, like an actual physical craving,

and sometimes they don't know, sometimes they're like, I don't know, I think it might be

emotional, or maybe it's habitual. Maybe every night after dinner, you just go to the

cupboard and you get a snack and you, you know, make put together a bowl of ice

cream or whatever it is, it might not necessarily be physical. But if you know it's a

physical craving, I mean, there's a couple of things that could be a sign of low blood

sugars, because when your blood sugar levels are low, your brain is really smart. And it

knows that your body just needs sugar. So if someone hasn't eaten for a long period of

time, you know, they might crave sugar, or if you ate like a huge bowl of pasta, anything

that goes up must come down. So maybe an hour later you crave sugar. So that's one,

you know, biochemical reason why you might be craving sugar. And another one is

some people are just lower, and the neurotransmitters that are you know, that determine

whether or not we crave sugar, and those are those, you know, are created in our gut. So

if you have poor gut health, there's a lot of reasons why it's going to affect your health

negatively, your immune function will be lower, you might have difficulty losing weight,

you know, obvious digestive things, you know, diarrhea, constipation, and bloating, gas,

acid reflux, and things that come with that are kind of more obvious symptoms of gut

health. But even if you don't struggle with those things, it can still be affecting your

overall immune health and, and cravings, too. So glutamine is like probably my number

one favorite supplement of all time, because it's just so important for so many different

things. And it's one of those ones where, you know, a multivitamin. with mine, like, you

can usually tell a difference, because we put a lot of B vitamins in there. So people feel

energy when they take when they take my multicap. But a lot of multivitamins, you can't

really tell a difference. And what I love about glutamine is you actually if you're getting

physical cravings, you will be able to tell a difference taking the supplement, because

your cravings will go down. And you know, you might not be able to feel that the

glutamine is healing the inflammation in your body, you might not be able to feel that it's

healing your diet. In fact, you probably won't be able to feel that. But over time, you

might notice that your symptoms improve. You might be like, gosh, you know, I used to

and sometimes people don't realize even have symptoms until they go away. Which is

also interesting, right? How we kind of just become used to living a certain way. I had

one woman say, I had this terrible back pain that went away like three months into your

program, I realized it was completely gone. And I'm like, You never mentioned anything

about that. And she's like, Yeah, I kind of forgot about it, even though it was like horrible

and debilitating every single day. And same with some GI things. Sometimes people just

don't really think to mention that they you know, have terrible stomach aches, and that

they have really bad diarrhea like an hour after they eat every single time or things that

like seemed like a pretty big deal. A lot of times we just get used to that and it becomes

our normal. But um, you know, it's it's not. And the amazing thing is there's some simple

things that you can do to heal inflammation and to heal your body that aren't like that

difficult, but you can see big results with and I think that taking a few supplements for

your gut health, like probiotics like glutamine, and like fish oil, I think is a really great one

for reducing that inflammation that you can feel a difference, you know, not too long

after you start taking them.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 49:46

Brilliant! Cassie, thank you so much for joining me here today. It's been wonderful to

learn from you to speak with you. Where can people learn more about you?

Cassie Bjork 54:06

Thank you! Well... redefinedweightloss.com is where the party's at you'll find all my

different programs. I've got a free masterclass over there called bye bye belly fat that

kind of outlines my approach it's an hour long. And most people learn more in that hour

than they have probably in their whole life when it comes to you know, weight loss and

how our bodies actually work. So that would be a good place for people to start.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 54:29

Wonderful. And then you also have a free gift for our listeners, right?

Cassie Bjork 54:33

Yes. And it really relates what we talked about today. It's called seven ways to heal

inflammation and lose the weight for good. So disclaimer, even if you don't want to lose

weight. This guy is still really great for learning seven different ways to heal

inflammation. We talked about action steps like you know, seven action steps that every

single day you can take that's actually going to help your body because a lot of people

hear about inflammation. They hear about these things and they have no idea where to

start. So this is a great way you can even just pick one or two of the steps and just get

started with them and see how you feel. And that's that

redefinedweightloss.com/7ways.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 55:07

Brilliant! And we'll drop all those links below here and in the show notes.

Cassie Bjork 55:11

Amazing! Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. What a fun conversation.

Evan H. Hirsch, MD 55:15

Thanks for being here!