ABOUT ANGELA SUM
Passionate, Self-taught, Traditional Cook
Certified Wahls Coach and Clinical Herbalist
My Challenge
I'm the mother of three grown daughters and wife to a wonderful husband. Up until my late 30's, I thought I was blessed with great health. My metabolic test results were normal. All 3 of my pregnancies were uneventful. I ate what I thought was a good, healthy diet, with far more vegetables than what the USDA recommended. Since I've always been interested in cooking, nutrition and organic food production, I enrolled in a health coaching program at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. This experience led me to question my "good" health and certain symptoms my doctor described as normal. I challenged my doctor and insisted on more in-depth thyroid testing. I learned that I had Hashimoto's, an autoimmune condition of the thyroid that later developed into Graves disease. When I asked my doctor of 15 years what could be done, her response was that I would be put on drugs, my thyroid eventually would burn out and likely be surgically removed or ablated, and that a synthetic thyroid medicine would support me for the remainder of my life.
My Journey
I refused to accept this destiny. Instead, I began a long, personal journey of self-healing through food, lifestyle changes, new integrative doctors and non-stop research. I was fortunate to come across a book called "The Wahls Protocol" by Dr. Terry Wahls. This book confirmed what I intuitively believed, that food was an integral part of healing my autoimmune condition. Nutrient-dense food was an integral part of Dr. Wahls' recovery from severe MS conditions, another autoimmune condition. Following the protocol and other lifestyle changes, I was fortunate to have avoided thyroid failure and surgery. I became a Certified Wahls Coach to help others with their health journey. I have also had the privilege to study under the world renowned herbalist, David Winston.
