Editor’s Note: This article was originally written and submitted to us by Natasha Smith, Holistic Nutritionist.

The doctors all over the city knew me. A few even called me through the clinic side door to pass the line. Why? Because I was a regular, always getting the next dose, the next guess, and finally the next pass along to the next doctor who would have the next new diagnosis. Nobody’s pride could admit they had no idea what was wrong with me. Does this sound familiar?

Mystery Illness is defined exactly as it sounds… a mystery. My entire adolescence bypassed me as I was quick to grow up trying to figure out why my hair was falling out, why my breasts deflated, and why my stomach was in pain all the time after eating. Why was this happening to me? “It’s PCOS, wait, no, it’s alopecia, I mean hypothyroidism, actually, you’re gluten sensitive, it’s because you have low iron, it’s obviously a heart murmur…” and the list goes on.

I was getting treated the same way my dad was when he suffered from a life-threatening stroke. I was a number, not a person. “Just give her the usual and slap on a band-aid.” This is what I call the band-aid effect, where a practitioner only treats what lies on the surface, not what caused the condition. At this point, I became a Holistic Nutritionist. I was able to help so many others, including my father, who surpassed doctors’ speculations by living three years beyond their one-year timeframe, by connecting the symptom to the root cause. Now, it was time for me to do it for myself.

Working on yourself is very different than working with clients. You have to be very meticulous. The first thing I did was wean off of all my supplements and medications, under my doctor’s supervision, until I was 100% cleared to start fresh. I re-examined my bloodwork, requesting my doctor to test other elements of my blood they were not looking into. I found my bloodwork had been skewed due to dehydration, which made it look like my iron, B vitamins, potassium, and other minerals were sub-par. This was because my blood flow was stagnant! I was taking medication to fix those areas previously, which was only creating more side effects, such as throwing off my hormones, inflaming my intestines, and decreasing my immune system.

By reducing my supplement intake from handfuls daily (which was irritating my liver as well as my hormones) to less than five that I take two to three times per week with the proper food as supplementation, my hypothyroidism has completely recovered. My PCOS is in remission, which regulated my hormones and welcomed back my breasts. It’s amazing that less than three years ago I was a specimen in a lab with all the specialists gathered around poking me with needles, and now I am a runner (which I was told was impossible due to my conditions) with my business, How to Bloom Inc., which was a quarterfinalist in the Forbes 2025 Entrepreneur of Impact competition because I was able to help others with their own mystery illnesses.

Now, all I am working on is increasing my immunity, as my white blood cells dropped quite a bit from medication side effects. This is a new path for me to take on slowly, as I cannot do the same workouts as I used to when I was a personal trainer, but I refuse to take my goal as a marathon runner out of the picture altogether. As I said previously, I’ve been told it’s impossible, and I have had to take extended recovery breaks for my body to fight off back-to-back illnesses due to the physical demand running has on the body. But never underestimate the power of nutrition, nor the simplicity of bone broth, as according to my lab results, I’m getting stronger every step of the way (pun intended). Nothing beats the look in your doctor’s eyes when they ask you how you did it!

All this to say, it’s not all in your head. What makes Mystery Illness a real mystery is that what you may think is the cause usually is a side effect. Just because one organ is on the complete other side of the body does not negate it from being connected to another. Sadly, this is where most specialists hang up their lab coats, leaving the puzzle unfinished. You should not be dismissed with just a band-aid! Fight to uncover your mischievous villain by finally giving it a name.

Remember, everything in the body is connected. You’re the only one who knows yourself well enough to add the final piece of the puzzle.