Episode #65: Mickey Trescott
Mickey Trescott, NTP prides herself in finding creative solutions to preparing, cooking, and succeeding on allergen-free diets. She is a certified nutritional therapy practitioner and author of the best-selling guide to the Autoimmune Protocol, The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook. With her partner Angie Alt, she co-authored The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook, an award-winning guide that teaches a whole-lifestyle approach to healing from autoimmune disease. Her newest release, The Nutrient-Dense Kitchen, focuses on nutrient density, an often overlooked aspect to deep healing with food.
In 2012, Mickey founded AutoimmuneWellness.com, whose website and social media channels serve millions of readers annually with recipes and resources for living well with chronic illness. With Angie Alt and Sarah Ballantyne, she co-created and co-teaches the AIP Certified Coach Practitioner Training Program, an advanced training for practitioners across the spectrum of both natural and conventional healthcare.
At age 26, Mickey Trescott was bedridden. She had been diagnosed with both Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and celiac disease, and her symptoms were becoming increasingly unmanageable. So, after almost 10 years of eating a vegan diet, Mickey ate meat for the first time...and not just any meat. She had a hunch that her vegan diet wasn’t supporting her nutritional needs, but that something like organ meat--which is very nutrient dense--just might. She had her husband cook some lamb liver, and she ate two bites. And although she was worried she would feel sick, the exact opposite happened. Instead of getting sick, she was flooded with a warm feeling. For Mickey, feeling warm and seeing her body temperature rise was a big deal. On today’s episode, Mickey and I talk about why she was so driven to learn about the impact of diet on autoimmune conditions, and how experimenting with diet as a member of a very small, private Facebook group led to a new movement around the Autoimmune Protocol. We also talk about the hurdles she faced when trying to get diagnosed, and the sense of devastation she felt when doctor after doctor didn’t believe her. Finally, we talk about why she sees the Autoimmune Protocol as a template, not a diet, and why advocacy around nutrition is now core to her mission.
“It’s okay if the thing that everyone says is good for everyone doesn’t work for you.”
Here are some of the things Mickey and I chatted about:
Being diagnosed with asthma as a kid, and what she knows now about her asthma episodes
The moment when she went to the shoe store and got running shoes...for the first time ever
Trying a vegan diet thanks to her college roommate, and the impact it had on her health
Symptoms she noticed around age 26, like her hair falling out and numbness in her fingers
Feeling demoralized after doctor visits, and how it felt to be labeled as a hypochondriac
Her Hashimoto’s diagnosis (which she’d expected) and also testing positive for celiac disease
The feeling, when she finally had her diagnosis in hand, of being told there was nothing to do
After her diagnosis, the very challenging symptoms she was dealing with on a daily basis
The conversations with doctors that motivated her to take her health into her own hands
Learning to be both specific and collaboration-minded in the language she used with providers
The private Facebook group she belonged to that was dedicated to experimenting with diet
Why she prefers to focus on nutrient density versus an approach of “eat this, don’t eat that”
Going back to school to study nutrition, and what she decided to do with her new degree
Creating AutoimmuneWellness.com, and how that community has grown since it was founded
How having easy access to nature and animals is a part of how she manages her health
Striving to let her perfectionist side go and, when she feels good, to enjoy the present moment
“When I feel good, I try really hard to soak in how it feels to feel good and to enjoy that moment instead of thinking, ‘How could I make this better?”
Listen Here: iTunes / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Play / Overcast
Follow Mickey: Instagram
Learn more about the Autoimmune Protocol:
The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook by Mickey Trescott
The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook by Mickey Trescott and Angie Alt
The Nutrient-Dense Kitchen by Mickey Trescott
The Paleo Approach by Sarah Ballantyne
Support for this episode comes from Cali'flour Foods. Cali'flour Foods makes delicious cauliflower products like pizza crusts, flatbreads, and frozen pizzas. Their products, which are low-carb, low-glycemic, gluten-free, and grain-free, are for people who don’t want to sacrifice flavor for health. To learn more, visit califlourfoods.com, and get 10% off your order using the code MADEVISIBLE at checkout. (Code can be used one time and is valid for any order.)