Hi, I am guessing that the science is 15-20 years ahead of what traditional Doctors apply.
One’s best bet is to seek a functional medicine Docor who is current or has a team that is current with the latest science.
That cuts down the list greatly.
Also look at how many providers he/she supervises.
One very good functional medical doctor with incredible advertising supervisors over 10 providers( MD’s, PA’s and NP’s), he was booked up for 9 months. Ask yourself, how much time he will spend with you and or on your file? Dr. Bush has only one provider under him and logically will likely spend allot more time than someone who had several people under him.
Also best to try and understand what others with similar problems have done to achieve superior results, which the current medical establishment has not yet accepted and document it and all your attempts.
Learn what they did.
Paying for Labs online might be a great idea.
Regarding diet that is such a complicated topic.
Everyone is different and what works for someonme can always change.
The science is changing almosty as we speak.
I might have general suggestions if I know what you are trying to achieve?
Would be very happy to share what I know.
Ultimately you need to record what you eat, treating food as a medication. Try keep your estimates within 20%.
Use an application like fitness app, where you can enter what you eat
And see the Protein, fat, carbohydrates and other micro-nutrients.
Every extra detail helps, however do not over whelm yourself.
Ease into it.
That creates proper awareness and probably increases your chance of success exponentially.
Typically an anti-inflammation diet is generally what you might want?
You need to discover what is inflammatory for you, knowing that it will likely change as you grow older.
Intermittent fasting is almost always a great idea to aim for long term. Read as much as you can about it and see Dr. Valter Longo of USC.
Secondly the lower the calories the better your chances of a healthier and or longer life.
Thirdly: Try to simplify your diet and food should be affordable and ideallyas easy to acess for you. Cook and prepare you own food.
Fourthly: Define your objective as clearly as you can with proper achievable goals. Keep reviewing these goals.
Fifth: Be patient and happy that you are trying.
Most people who try are not as dedicated as you are, being a bio-hacker.
(Desired results might take many years-like in my case. I could not lose weight, despite eating very healthy and kept adding knew restrictions on when I was not seeing results. Then suddenly new restrictions worked.
Sixth: Allow room for holidays where you can cheat atleast once a week.
Seventh: Get Labs to see if your diet is working. Depending on your problem, will dictate the labs. Paying for these labs and the treatment out of pocket might increase your sense of awareness and dedication.
Eight: Always be open minded and positive no matter what.
Nine: Always try to increase your knowledge about what you are doing as often as possible. Learn as many new things every day as you can.
Ten: When progress is very very slow and you are unhappy or you are going backwards, record this and try something different.
There are more suggestions however this should keep you occupied.
My problems have improved , however I am far from cured. This is a lifelong quest which may never be solved.
Hope this helped. You posts show that you are very dedicated and have done an incredible job with researching. Keep up the great work!!