October 15, 2022

Recently, at a nutrition conference, I met Dane Johnson, the owner and founder of CrohnsColitisLifestyle.

His transformative healing story, dedication, and the uniqueness of his holistic approach were so fascinating that I knew I had to get him on the show.

Dane’s passion for holistic nutrition began after his own life-threatening battle with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. At 19 years old, Dane experienced his first symptoms of IBD, with blood in his stool and multiple uncontrollable bowel movements daily. He nearly died at 27 years old while taking many different traditional medicines. Determined to create a better life for himself, Dane made a deep commitment to himself not to be a victim of this disease and sought out natural healing modalities.

Dane is a leading practitioner in the holistic community with more than ten years of experience in the health and wellness industry. He received his Holistic Nutrition degree from the Energetic Health Institute and has since helped others find natural solutions to their battles with Crohn's/colitis. Dane has been featured in fitness magazines such as “Fitness for Men.”

Dane is the creator of the proprietary healing program S.H.I.E.L.D, a personalized, natural approach to reversing Crohn's and colitis. The co-founder of the non-profit Nutrition Heals foundation, the founder of CCLifestyle, and a member of the National Association of Nutrition Professionals, Dane is an established leader in the field. Throughout his battle with Crohn's/colitis, Dane always wished there was a place where he could connect with others who suffer and help build a healing plan, and he is now making that possible for others.

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-Dane Johnson's story…06:47

• CrohnsColitisLifestyle
• Used to act and model right after college
• Living the dream until he got diagnosed with ulcerative colitis
• He used to go to his gigs, with 10-15 bowel movements a day; blood, cramping, diarrhea
• Doctor said he’ll have ulcerative colitis and be on medications for the rest of his life
  • 40 mg of Prednisone, tapering five milligrams a week, down to zero 
  • Asacol
  • Remicade
• Raised in Virginia and no idea about natural medicine
• No disease in the family; just advised to take Tylenol, go and sleep it off
• Doctors didn’t pay much attention, parents did not have much knowledge 
• The meds didn’t work, he even had drug-induced hepatitis
• UCLA diagnosed Dane with Crohn's disease, while Mayo Clinic said ulcerative colitis
• Doctors advised a part of his colon taken out and studied
• The pros and cons of having a colectomy 
• Why opting not to eat instead is a bad idea
• Why intermittent fasting is another bad idea
• Lost a lot of weight, from 185 to 122 lbs
• Dane went from bad to severe to life-threatening 
• In 2014, Dane went through a great deal of stress, started losing vision, night sweats and fevers which made it life-threatening, could hardly walk
• 6 weeks in the hospital
• On Delaudid, given to cancer patients to help relieve severe pain 
• Experiencing hallucinations

-What Dane learned and what he decided he had to do…19:04

• A doctor said what he had was actually a virus, and he was given antiviral chemotherapy
• Snapped out of it and regained consciousness after 2 days; able to talk and move around
• Checked himself out of the hospital; housebound for a year
• Already lost thousands of dollars for treatments; years of failure
• He learned how to journal and watch his food intake
• Started learning how to celebrate the micro wins (20 bowel movements to 17)
• Got real results with natural medicine
• Fasted and tried various diets
  • 400 bananas a day
  • Bone broth only 
  • Carrot purees
• Read books and met Jordan Rubin
• Jordan Rubin's books
  • Restoring Your Digestive Health 
  • The Maker's Diet
  • Essential Fasting
• Jini Patel's books 
  • Listen To Your Gut
  • Jini's Healing Guide
• The problem of restricted diet and caloric intake just resulted in more weight loss
• Without electrolytes and nutrients in the bloodstream, he was as good as dead
• He decided to be the CEO of his health; not the expert, not the master, but taking control and responsibility for his health
• The number one healing starts in the mind; you have to change your mind to say I want this, you're doing it because you need it, and that fear-based gasoline only goes so far
• Wanted to be the best version of himself; took power away from the doctor, away from the diagnosis
• CrohnsColitisLifestyle

-How long did it take for Dane to turn the corner?…30:10

• 3 to 4 years
• Went to Natural Medicine School

-What is the Natural Medicine school?…30:31

• Got board certification in Holistic Nutrition from EHI (Energetic Health Institute)
• A 2-year degree learning about mitochondria, gut health, meditation, and nutrition
• His professor introduced him to BCPH shake 
• The shake is a binder made of bentonite clay and psyllium husk that helped his colon a lot
• Massive results in one year: 
  • Got rid of about 90 to 95% of his symptoms
  • Went down to two to three bowel movements a day, no blood, no cramping, no urgency
  • Gained weight to 175 pounds
  • Drug-free in 7 months
  • Colonoscopy showed 80% healed, scars gone
  • Ulcers gone
  • Inflammation basically gone after seven months 
• The gut is the fastest-healing tissue in the body

-What Dane did to heal…36:07

• Only eats what he prepares 
• Meditates on the food and checks how he is feeling
• He saw the common themes of why certain plant-based foods do not work for him; red meat hurts him because of the iron
• Started a food philosophy, how food works despite a blind diet
• Be aware of food; don't just do a diet because someone said it and wrote a book
• Look at the food and be aware of how it works and then listen to your body; journal on that because your body will tell you
• Some sufferers of Crohn's and colitis can only do vegan, others can only do meat
• Super Gut by Dr. William Davis 
• Podcast with Dr. William Davis
  • Everything You Need To Know About Healing Your Gut, Mood, Energy, Libido & Sleep With A Little Known Bacterial Strain (& An Amazing DIY Yogurt Recipe!) With Dr. William Davis, Author of Super Gut.
• Food Marble digestive tracker (15% discount auto-applied)

-SIBO, offensive foods, and S.H.I.E.L.D…44:48

• Dane calls whole foods with fibers and sugar that illicit a severe reaction as “offensive foods”; a sign that the microbiome still needs to heal
• Dane now eats 70% plant, and for about five years only ate meat and vegetables 
• The goal of the S.H.I.E.L.D program is to give you the ability to handle a poison without a severe reaction; sign of a healthy gut
• Dane's gallbladder and liver cleanse
  • TUDCA creates more bile
  • NAC
  • Glycine
• Be careful with how you use supplements; doing it in the wrong place can have a negative reaction
• Be careful with how you detox
• Just because some food does not work for you does not mean it's bad; your body is just not ready for it
• Liposomal PC (use code GREENFIELD10 to save 10%)
• Foul-smelling gas and bowel movements could be indigestion of fats
• Clients with mast cell histamine issues use Butyrate and PC to rebuild lipid fats around the cells to stop histamine reactions
• Working on the liver and gallbladder is good for digestion
• People with Crohn's and colitis:
  • Their digestion is so poor
  • Their pancreas is not operating correctly, and undigested proteins, fats, or even fibers are going into the colon, causing the spastic colon
• Some of the hardest foods to digest are beans and kale
• Food philosophy teaches about root cause

-What kind of tests do you like to use?…53:57

• A lot of root causes are not checked by conventional medicine
• Genetic stool tests can't check for viral load, mold, yeast, or candida because it takes too long to culture, so they don't check for mold
• Tests
  • GI MAP test
  • Organic Acid Test urine analysis
    • Mold
    • Neurotransmitters
    • Vitamin deficiencies
    • Oxalate issues which can tell me about more systemic issues
  • Cytokine panel
    • If TNF alpha is raised to give an idea if the biologics are working
    • Cytokines tend to be linked to different types of autoimmune diseases
  • Mold and mycotoxin test
  • Heavy metal test
  • Food allergy test
  • ArminLabs Viral Load Panel
• Curcumin (use code BEN15 to save 15%)
• Butyrate
• NAC
• Glutathione
• Glycine
• Binders like BCPH or GI Detox
• Oregano
• Spend money on things that make sense; do not spend money on supplements or labs that do not make sense to you
• The S.H.I.E.L.D program makes you accountable to your plan; you need to understand what you are doing
• A lot of people with Crohn's or colitis may have other autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, or multiple sclerosis
• arminlabs

-Root cause of viruses and the ArminLabs Viral Load Panel…1:04:37

• ArminLabs 
• Dr. Armin Schwarzbach 
• Tests are only in Germany because of Covid restrictions
• Dr. Armin found root causes of chronic diseases that seem incurable
• Testing for IgA antibodies
• Built a specific Crohn's/colitis test that tests for 5 viruses and 2 bacteria 
• ArminLabs Viral Load Panel
• 90 of 100 clients checked have all come back positive with active viruses (1,000 people with Crohn's/colitis)
• 60% symptom relief within 3 months is 90% or more
• Symptoms associated with these viruses
  • Night sweats
  • Fevers
  • Cold sores
• Why patients should be careful in taking antibiotics; antibiotics destroy the microbiome, which controls the virus

-What is the S.H.I.E.L.D program?…1:10:44

• Build a foundational blueprint; you want to start with a proven system and then customize it
  • Everything needs to be customized to you and your needs; get away from the generic
  • We're very conscious of where the money is, we only want to spend on what makes sense
• Build your own personalized answer – you're going to have a coach and a partner, someone who has Crohn's and colitis themselves and is trained and sees 40 people a week
  • Simplify your plan and make it consistent
  • Cook 8 meals at once; cook to reduce inflammation and increase absorption
  • Create belief; turn that faith into belief and trust
  • Act on what you desire, not what you need
• Happiness, desire, and curiosity are way better fuel than sacrifice, fear, and need
• CrohnsColitisLifestyle

-And much more…

Upcoming Events:

• Wild Health Awake + Aware Principles: October 22nd, 2022 (Lexington, KY). Join me for a one-day intensive experience where I will guide you through a series of interactive lectures that explore purpose, meaning, and spiritual health. VIP guests will also join me on an immersive walk through nature and an intimate dinner. Learn more here.
• Keep up on Ben's LIVE appearances by following bengreenfieldfitness.com/calendar!

Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

– Dane Johnson:

• CrohnsColitisLifestyle
  • GI MAP Test
  • Organic Acid Test
  • Cytokine Panel
  • Mold And Mycotoxin Test
  • ArminLabs Viral Load Panel

– Podcasts And Articles:

• Everything You Need To Know About Healing Your Gut, Mood, Energy, Libido & Sleep With A Little Known Bacterial Strain (& An Amazing DIY Yogurt Recipe!) With Dr. William Davis, Author of Super Gut.
• Is A Ketogenic Diet Bad For Your Gut, Should You Eat Resistant Starch, How Exercise Changes Your Gut Bacteria & Much More With Lucy Mailing.
• Joel Greene Podcast Part 1: How To Reboot The Gut, Eat Cheesecake Without Gaining Weight, Amplify Any Fasting Protocol & Maximize Fat Loss.
• Joel Greene Podcast Part 2: How To Reshape Fat Cells, Enhance Repair During Sleep, Target Your “Circaseptan Rhythms,” Build Young Muscle & Get Rid Of Old Muscle.
• It All Starts With Your Gut: How Your Bacteria & Intestinal Inflammation Affect Your Mood, Health, Longevity & More!
• How To Beat Bloating & Customize Your Diet: An Overview Of Ben Greenfield’s Gut Results From Viome (& How To Know Which Foods Are Right For You).
• Kiss Gas & Bloating Goodbye With Dr. Matt Cook: The Complete Done-For-You Guide To Eliminating SIBO Once & For All (Along With Sex, Trauma, PTSD, Ozone Dialysis & More!).
• Dangerous Probiotic Myths, The Probiotic Ben Greenfield Uses, Anti-Aging Effects Of Probiotics, Should Males Vs. Females Take Different Probiotics & Much More.
• How To Get 6 Gigabytes Of Data From Your Gut: The Fascinating Future Of Stool, Blood, Saliva & Urine Testing (From The Comfort Of Your Own Home).
• Do Probiotics Really Work, The Carnivore Diet, How To Heal Bacterial Overgrowth, Is Fiber Necessary, Melatonin For A Leaky Gut & More!
• Poop, Bacteria & You: The Latest Cutting-Edge Science Of The Human Microbiome (& How To Affordably Test Your Own Gut).
• Age Reversing Via The Gut, The Ultimate Anti-Anxiety Pill, Customized Probiotics & More With Billionaire Entrepreneur & Viome Founder Naveen Jain
• The Gut Super-Special: Eating Camel Poop, Weird Constipation Causes, Pig Whipworms & More: How To Banish Bloat, Fix Your Microbiome & Reboot Your Gut.
• Constipation, Fecal Transplants, Fiber Myths, Resistant Starch, Probiotics & More With Konstantin Monastyrsky.
• How To Fix Your Gut: 9 Bad Things That Happen When Your Digestion Goes Wrong, How To Hit The Reboot Button & The Best Way To Detox Your Body.

– Books:

• Restoring Your Digestive Health 
• The Maker's Diet
• Essential Fasting
• Listen To Your Gut
• Jini's Healing Guide
• Super Gut by Dr. William Davis 

– Other Resources:

• Kettle And Fire Bone broth
• TUDCA
• NAC
• Glycine
• Liposomal PC (use code GREENFIELD10 to save 10%)
• Curcumin (use code BEN15 to save 15%)
• Butyrate
• NAC
• Glutathione
• BCPH
• GI Detox
• Oregano
• Heavy metal test
• Food allergy test
• ArminLabs
• Food Marble (15% discount auto applied)
• Energetic Health Institute

Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Dane Johnson or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!

Episode Sponsors:

Heart & Soil: Use code BEN10 (that’s BEN 1-0) for 10% OFF your first order! Let me know what you think… and especially how great you feel.

Essentia: Essentia organic mattresses are the only mattress to score best on eliminating all sleep-interrupting stimulants. Experience Essentia for yourself and save an additional $100 on your mattress purchase using code BENVIP at myessentia.com/bengreenfield.

Traeger: Traegers can tackle everything from hamburgers and dogs to slow-smoked brisket and even dessert thanks to their 6-in-1 versatility. Check out www.Traeger.com to learn more about these amazing grills.

Haelan 951: Haelan 951 is a concentrated, nitrogen-fermented beverage made from organic soybeans grown in the mountains of Mongolia. Use the promo code BEN to get free shipping.

BUTCHERBOX: ButcherBox is offering our listeners an incredible deal – two, 10 oz New York strip steaks and 8 oz of lobster claw and knuckle meat FREE in your first order when you sign up at butcherbox.com/ben.

Kion Aminos: Aminos are building blocks for muscle recovery, reduced cravings, better cognition, immunity, and more. Go to getkion.com/bengreenfield to receive 20% off on monthly deliveries and 10% on one-time purchases.