Lessons from Christa’s Health Crisis with Eczema, Energy & Food Sensitivities, Part 1

This week on The Less Stressed Life Podcast, I’m sharing my full health journey—the struggles, the mistakes, and the lessons learned—so you don’t have to spend 10 years figuring it out like I did. In this episode, I take you back to two pivotal health crises in my life: one in 2015 and another in 2017. This week, I’m focusing on the 2015 crisis—the wake-up call that led me to truly understand the connection between gut health, food sensitivities, and chronic inflammation.

You’ll hear about the symptoms I ignored, the treatments that didn’t work, and how I finally started to heal after months of trial and error. Plus, I’m answering some of the biggest questions my clients have about what finally worked and why food sensitivities, histamine, and hormone imbalances are not the root cause of eczema.

❓Questions about my journey or your own health struggles? Submit them here: https://www.christabiegler.com/questions

🚨Christa is currently taking clients! Click here to book a mini case review: https://www.christabiegler.com/fss

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

 ✅ The subtle warning signs I missed before my eczema spiraled out of control
 ✅ Why food sensitivities are a symptom, not the root cause
 ✅ The biggest healing mistakes that set me back
 ✅ How gut health, chronic stress, and nutrient depletion played a role
 ✅ Understanding your body’s symptoms as signals 

ABOUT CHRISTA:

Christa Biegler has been a registered dietitian for over 10 years, author of The Eczema Relief Diet & Cookbook, host of top-rated Less Stressed Life podcast and was awarded  Dietitian of the Year for South Dakota in 2020.
She worked in a variety of clinical settings, school nutrition, and behind the scenes for a food company and fitness celebrity before starting her private practice focusing on food sensitivities and eczema for adults and pediatrics, which quickly expanded to all aspects of gut health.
She lives in the middle of nowhere with her unicycling husband, children and a flock of chickens. 

WHERE TO FIND CHRISTA:
Website: https://www.christabiegler.com/
Instagram: @anti.inflammatory.nutritionist
Podcast Instagram: @lessstressedlife
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lessstressedlife
Leave a review, submit a questions for the podcast or take one of my quizzes here: https://www.christabiegler.com/links

NUTRITION PHILOSOPHY:

 🍽️ Over restriction is dead
 🥑 Whole food is soul food and fed is best
 🔄 Sustainable, synergistic nutrition is in (the opposite of whack-a-mole supplementation & supplement graveyards)
 🤝 You don’t have to figure it out alone
 💛 Do your best and leave the rest

SPONSOR:
Thanks to Jigsaw Health for sponsoring this episode! Struggling with dry, cracked hands? Try their Alaska Cod Liver Oil for omega-3s + vitamins A & D to support skin and immune health. Use code LESSSTRESSED10 at JigsawHealth.com for 10% off—unlimited use!

TRANSCRIPT:

Christa Biegler, RD: I'm your host, Christa Biegler, and I'm going to guess we have at least one thing in common that we're both in pursuit of a less stressed life. On this show, I'll be interviewing experts and sharing clinical pearls from my years of practice to support high performing health savvy women in pursuit of abundance and a less stressed life.

One of my beliefs is that we always have options for getting the results we want. So let's see what's out there together. 

 I don't think I've ever told my own health story incomplete on the podcast, and I will save you 10 years of stories today. There's really two primary health crises in 2015, around then, in 2017. And so we're going to start with the one from 2015. In the past, maybe I've shared a paragraph version or a couple sentences as an introduction when I've been on other shows or when it fit into our own shows.

But, by request of clients, they have requested that I share a little bit more about the story, and then I'm also going to answer a couple of their questions. So one thing I often notice and reflect to my own clients is that we are more alike than we are different. I believe this to my core because I see proof of it every single day.

We all want to be seen, to be heard, and sometimes there are specific ways that our body is communicating that can feel so alone, but we're really not alone. These little signals can often tell us more than we realize, and they're part of the entire story of how we can prioritize and heal ourselves. So when I tell a partial version of my story here or on other shows, People sometimes see a part of themselves as well.

Maybe they've reacted negatively to coffee. I have a new client who shared that was the part of the story that she resonated with. Or maybe they have a rash around their eye, like I did. Or maybe they trashed their stress hormones with intermittent fasting too, which is part of the 2017 story. But here's a short version of my own story.

I had dry skin in the winter for as long as I can remember, and for sure in high school. I thought it was just genetic, because my sisters also seemed to get it, and what you experience as common, you think is normal. I now know never to blame things on genetics, but it's really the situations going on.

Genetics load the gun, and what the current situations are actually pull the trigger. I remember visiting a dermatologist in that age time frame in high school and getting a couple of creams because they lived in the bathroom cabinet for years to come. But fast forwarding, as I'm an adult, as I'm married with three children, fast forwarding to approximately the summer of 2015.

Best of my ability of remembering because sometimes we try to block out negative past experiences. I was at the local swimming pool every day for a week, taking my kids to swimming lessons. And I woke up around the last day and my face was on fire. My eye was almost swollen, shut my left eye with redness and pain.

And my neck was a combination of red, inflammatory pain and flaking.   It was not a good situation. So what else was going on behind the scenes? I had two toddlers and I was navigating the switch from consulting and conventional medicine to private practice, which as an achiever and a recovering people pleaser.

can be very challenging, and who knows what else. I know it was a busy season for my husband, so I probably felt quite alone with all of these things, and I'm sure I was quite stressed and very much ignoring it. Prior to starting private practice in 2015, as an aside, I worked in kidney disease and diabetes education programming.

I was actually working with super sick people on the reservation, and then I contracted for the Department of Education for a couple of years on school food service reviews and audits. There was also some other things along the way, even after 2018, But at the beginning of my private practice in 2015, I was working with food sensitivities and food sensitivity testing. 

I remember getting my own food sensitivity test results before I had that flare and I hung the results on the fridge. Excited that I had the results, but really bummed that they were some of my favorite foods. And so I went into that very natural human denial phase, and I didn't want to implement because my emotions had taken the best of me.

I didn't want to be limited in food. I actually find this with dietitian clients. We do not like being told what to eat, which is failure. Number one, the fact that I hung them on the fridge and didn't implement because food sensitivities are a moving target, depending on the state of your gut and your immune system.

They're secondary to those things, not primary root causes, and that's why I now rarely run that kind of test. So after the massive flare, which ensued for many months, I decided to execute the food sensitivity protocol based on my test results, because  The issue was, because my immune system was already in chaos, I made things worse by creating even less safety in an already depleted system.

So I was under stress, I was severely restricting, and I was already in probably an undernourished stress state. Stress depletes nutrients, so when you deplete them further and your gut's already not working, you actually need to move rapidly. I'll talk a little bit.  about that more later, but I made things worse in general.

And so what happened was I created new food sensitivities that were never there before, which is sometimes a thing that clients resonate with as well. I remember, I've said this many times, I remember reaching into a bag of pecans and eating some and within minutes I felt like my eye was swelling and I'd never negatively reacted to pecans or foods like that ever in the past.

And I felt like I was in a pretty rock bottom place this time period, I would say overall was a little bit blurry in my memory because I didn't keep notes and I refused a lot of photos and I really was resistant to the experience. And I remember I was just looking for help. And at that time, I would say that alternative medicine, especially in the Midwest,  It was more popular than functional or integrative medicine.

What's the difference is that we think of functional and inner integrative medicine as a marriage between East and West and like down the middle. And so that's all I'll say about that. But I would see a practitioner who would just give me hundreds of dollars.  And then I would come back and probably I played a role in this as well, but I'd come back on no real certain schedule and then repeat the same process.

And it felt like a little bit of a whack a mole, like I never really was sure what was going on or what sometimes I was taking certain things for, but it was like, here's what you test for. Here's. 700 of supplements. See you in a month or whatever, but I was usually traveling quite a way to see these people.

And so sometimes there would be all over timelines and timeframes. And I don't remember having a lot of guidance and I was really just struggling to see patterns and linear progress. And as a human. You can start to get a little bit  disengaged when that happens and give up when you don't see results.

In reality, progress isn't linear all the time. It's always fun when it's linear, but it's helpful when your practitioner is available between kind of ambiguous appointment times and can offer some clarity even if something isn't linear. Basically, you want to have confidence that what you're doing is going to make a difference and you want to be able to have a timeline to understand when you might see results.

That's helpful for continuing. So as a result of what did I do then there was a lot of things I was doing there as a result of the food sensitivity training program that I went through, which was actually like a nice, really nice program I have. And I would say like arguably one of the best tests on the market, I did have access to some clinical mentors that were more.

Mature in their professions than I was, and that was very helpful. They were good at giving me some different folders of research. And so I just started digging into research about gut healing. It was a little bit ramshackle, I must admit, but I would start to see patterns in that research that I and we look for common threads of clues.

Like I keep seeing the same information. And so I started pursuing that.  And so I started implementing my own protocols and I actually started seeing results of being consistent with different gut work for a couple of months. There were certainly some drainage and detox things that I remember feeling really good on certain nutrients  that were helpful in the time, but even later as I understood those more, I understood then when those things were helpful, what that actually taught me about myself.

And. I even remember doing genetic testing with a friend much later and feeling validated at that point I mentioned this every once in a while, my genetics are so bad  my ability to make fatty acids to convert choline to detoxify. Lots of things, lots of issues and things like all of my detoxification enzymes or genes  that control how fast my enzymes work.

We're just so slow. I'm predisposed to having more gut issues. And so while I don't think that genetic testing is necessary for every person, I actually think it's.  a bit confusing. I would rather see people heal the current situation than getting genetic testing. And in reality, I did genetic testing later on in my journey.

I remember looking back and it being a bit validating in that, Oh, this is why I was predisposed to those things. So these are all good memories for me to have because these are true human emotions. But another thing that was happening at the same time that I was in denial about was my energy and my capacity for doing things in my life.

I remember I was way too tired to pick up the toys my toddlers were leaving in their wake every day. And sometimes I remember I would leave dinner dishes on the table overnight because I was just exhausted and apathetic. And I'm sure there's much more to that.  But.  You might also want to know that somewhere in the middle of these years, I don't remember if it was before or after the eggs, and I think it might have been before because I was doing some online Facebook lives before that.

And I definitely remember making kombucha on those lives. And I thought I was the picture of health and gut health because of the amount of kombucha that I drank. I drank it like it was my job. And the thing about kombucha is that it's really wild microbes. And so it's not really helpful when you're already having a Immune response, or you already have gut imbalances and can just really add fuel to the fire.

So histamine just by the way, is also a secondary issue. Just like food sensitivities, just like hormone stuff, it's not a primary issue. So it's rooted in gut and liver insufficiency and imbalance overall. And for sure, I had a lot of issues with histamine, like most of my eczema clients.  The other thing to know is that my journey was longer than it really needed to be in retrospect because I was really, I didn't know what to do and I was struggling to find anyone that was particularly competent in eczema  and what I've learned in my time with working with many eczema cases that It's not all the same.

It actually varies in presentation a lot. And I've categorized these primary causes of eczema that I see in clients that helps them prioritize what needs support and how long it takes. So mine was red and inflamed at its worst, but it was also dry and flaky at its core. And that's like another layer that I usually see more in adults.

So for example, kids, they're usually be red and inflamed. And generally it's going to be a little faster. to the end game for them. And as adults, maybe you had it as a child. I actually text my mom before I hit record and it's did I have eczema as a child? I was the fifth of seven children. So bless her.

She probably doesn't remember. But she said, I don't remember you having any breakouts. So  anyway, 

And then I also, of course, see people who have never had eczema and then they break out and then if I always joke, if I had a nickel for everyone with hand eczema post 2020,  we'd be able to buy you all coffee. So anyway.  I was really struggling to find anyone who knew much about eczema. And so I was getting that traditional eczema toolbox that really simply looked like omegas, maybe zinc, maybe probiotics.

I was actually getting a lot of other stuff as well. But when people walk in and they're on that, supplement stack. I know it's pretty generic and yeah, it's just pretty, pretty generic.  So  I would say that competence in an area gets rocket fuel with personal experience. And so one thing about having this experience in the past is that I understand weird things about my clients because I've had most of the symptoms that they've had. 

And I knew that when I was going through this healing crisis that I really needed to find gratitude because I might be able to help others with it someday, like some part of the lesson, not that I wanted to work with them at the time, but that someday ended up coming a lot quicker than I expected really the next year.

I was teaching about food sensitivities. And allergies to a large Facebook group of moms. And a couple of them reached out wanting help with their children's eczema. And in transparency, the rest is really history. I like to think that I learned just as much from listening very closely to my clients as they learned from me.

And I would go on podcasts and talk about eczema in the years that followed up until now, really and beyond. And even when I was not advertising that I help with eczema, people would just come and find me. I didn't list it on my website. I remember people saying to me like, you have some testimony, you have a lot of testimonials around. 

But you don't really talk about it that much on your website. And I think I was like trying to maybe for a while run away from like kind of this natural calling or this big need in the world. And the need is strong. It's there's at least 5 percent or more of adults that have diagnosed eczema in at least 10 to 20 percent of kids.

That's a really big demographic and our conventional toolbox is just shallow. It's a bit disappointing and people find that very quickly. And I would say it's getting better. It's improved a ton since I inadvertently entered this space 10 years ago, but there's just still a lot of opportunity to simplify this tangled web of eczema and food sensitivities.

It's not just steroids and then really expensive biologic medications. That's what the toolbox seems to be. Sometimes.  So my goal for clients is to prioritize the real root causes of eczema, so we can get faster results. It's not food sensitivities. It's not histamine. It's not hormones on their own.

All of those things are secondary.  And then I want to help clients reduce inflammation without skipping all of their favorite foods. And then finally, we want to bring all these systems in the body into balance to resolve symptoms. of eczema and other symptoms that may not seem as significant but are still there.

All symptoms are whispers from the body become before they become screams like mine were.  So symptoms are all a sign that a system is in need or that it's out of balance. So  there is, as I mentioned, a part two to my healing journey. And of course I could ramble on about this, the time I wrecked my stress hormones and cause them relapse in 2017, but we'll save that for another episode.

And the thing I want to ask you is what questions do you have for me specifically after hearing this? There's a couple ways you could submit a question. I was actually trying to dig through like some of the ways we used to have you submit questions have just become archaic ways. And so we've created a form so you can just submit a question anonymously.

You can click on a button  on the main podcast page, less stress life.com, or we've put this link in the show notes, you can submit a question to ask any question you want about my story or any other experience that I have, because I would love to do more pain at forward episodes about certain cases and pearls that I've learned along the way.

So I'll start with a couple questions that I received from clients.  And in transparency, they gave me these questions before they really heard the story. So I just picked a couple that were most relevant. And then I will weave in some of their other questions, which are a little bit bigger, that are a little more practitioner based different episodes.

So one client  asked me what led me to start searching for more answers and what fixes did I try that either didn't work, didn't fit, or didn't seem to work until, or that seemed to work until they didn't, which is a big question too. But first, what led me to start searching for more answers? So many people, I was really in crisis, not in annoyance.

Some people say I'm not sure if I should fix this. It's not that bad. And that's a personal preference. But when you don't address something, it generally just gets bad. And so you have to ask yourself, what is the cost of my time and energy  and resources on this particular symptoms? Is it Am I thinking about it throughout the day?

It's taking up time and resources.  And so I was in crisis, not an annoyance. And I will tell you that crawling out of crisis sucks. There's a lot of issues with that, but we have to remember that we're all humans. I would say we don't blame ourselves for being humans and people make changes from desperation or inspiration.

It's usually desperation. So now I know better. I catch things. It's very small whispers very quickly because I'm aware of them. And awareness is always the first step in making change from anything. I have a joke that I don't tell people that they have a problem that they don't believe that they have.

And so one thing we do on the podcast and a lot of our free resources is our goal is to create awareness and to help something hit to give people hope that there's always options. This client also asked about what fixes that I tried that didn't work, didn't fit, or seemed like they worked until they didn't.

And I could say a lot about that and I'll share maybe some things this is actually an easier question to ask as, answer as a practitioner. But for me, fixes that I tried were restricting foods. There was times that worked to an extent, right? Not necessarily this.  Extreme food sensitivity protocol, but if I had, a dessert of concentrated sugar or wine or concentrated carbs, did I see a positive impact on my skin?

Of course not, because I was feeding microbe imbalances in my gut for one and many other things. So muscle testing for me, I had been seeing that was an alternative therapy that I was really exposed to at that time.  I actually have another story about that from 2010. I had gone to a training in Florida at the recommendation of another practitioner.

And it was a practitioner, my husband's, and it was a bit cult like, honestly. It was like a very bromance vibe. It was. The interpretation was if people asked you how this worked, you just told them that it worked. And I was like, that does not work for my curious mind who likes to understand physiology.

And so it was not my people. And so I really struggled with that. So again, what else worked until it didn't as a practitioner, I have way more stories I feel about this. Even though my food sensitivity experience was a bust, I had already, I think, and again,  that time of life was a little blurry.

I wasn't, I don't think I was my first food sensitivity client.  I remember who the first person was and it went amazing for her. In those early weeks, I don't know how it went later, but I did do food sensitivity testing with clients for quite. a while and it was magic until it wasn't. And so they say that sometimes God gives you only what you can handle.

And that's how I always think about my practice is like this worked and then it wasn't enough. And then I added this and then that worked and then it wasn't enough. And then I just kept adding layers from there. And funny enough, the first person food sensitivity testing didn't work for outside and it may have supported, like I may have had some reduction in symptoms.

It was just the reintroduction of foods that I was struggling with and I have lots of feelings about that. And again, I'm not selling this as a solo thing. I'm just sharing. It's why I'm passionate about. I'm not a big fan of food sensitivities, but I am a big fan of food sensitivities and I'm not a big fan of resolving food sensitivities without restriction now because I like, love to prioritize joy in life and I love to eat.

And but the first person that food sensitivity testing did not work for,  of people outside of me, was my husband. Anyway, I would stack and learn more as we went. 

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The, another thing that I did do that I think, was helpful was there was about a year where I was going through a lot of stuff.

And I remember that I started to schedule self care days out of town about once a month for probably four to six months. And.  Of course, like going somewhere for one day, if the other 29 or 30 days are stressful, isn't really enough to compensate for daily stress. We definitely want to put things in our life that support our daily how we're feeling on a day to day basis, but it was a start and it was intentional and it was nourishing and it certainly helped.

Another client asked is a statement you'll hear. And so you'll have people that don't know each other whatsoever and there will be commonalities.

And so that reminds me of something that I remember seeing in the. Muscle testing space or I remember laying on a table in Florida and other places and they would often tell me yeah Your liver is really sluggish. And so and that is slightly generic because it's a big system and if you understand physiology It's like of course drainage needs support when the skin is responding but this was really before I had the eczema flare because I went to that conference in 2010 that summer and I was getting that information and so it was years before I had the crisis so  Success leaves clues.

You'll keep seeing the same common themes in different places.  Another bullet point would be when something doesn't feel right, lean out. So even though I was seeing those patterns in that way, there was like several other red flags that were really uncomfortable and did not contribute to feelings of safety in my nervous system.

And so when something doesn't feel right, lean out. Even if it's, I remember my husband not being thrilled about that. I think he really wanted me to pursue some of that stuff at that time. And I was like, this just does not feel good. It does not feel like my people. And to be honest, when I ended up in the food sensitivity program and it was a group of dieticians and they were into integrated medicine, I was like, Oh my gosh, I found my people.

There was a huge difference. The other thing I'll say, and I share this with clients all the time is that all experiences are a success. You learn from failures. Often more than you learn from success. I'm telling you that, but we all know that, right? Like just think about an experience you had, what you remember and failures are on the way to success.

So they're a part of heading toward success. So thank you to my clients who've requested this episode. I will do another one about the time I wrecked my hormones from intermittent fasting in 2017, if that's of interest to you and I look forward to getting some of your questions to answer on the show soon.

Thanks.