The Supplement Switch Public Notice

I shared this with my Facebook group a few days ago, and I want it here on the blog too. Some of you found me through essential oils long before you found me through celiac. If I have ever recommended a supplement to you, this is for you, and you deserve to hear it from me directly rather than notice it in passing.

Here is what I wrote.

• • •

Friends,

Most of you know about my "essential oil ministry." A friend once called me a "doTERRA evangelist," and honestly, she was not wrong.

Six countries. Over a thousand classes. And 99.99% of them taught to complete strangers, so many of whom became family to me. That team has grown far beyond anything I could have imagined, and it now stretches around the world.

I want to say this next part very carefully, because I love those I have shared with over the years.

I love doTERRA. I stand behind every testimony I ever carried. For years I felt like the essential oil success story delivery driver, taking what one person in one country told me and handing it to another person, another family, another kitchen table. That felt like holy work to me. It still does.

Many of you also know I have a company called Celiac Shack.

Here is what has been sitting on my heart.

• • •

For years I have asked corporate to make the supplements gluten-free. When VMG came, I cheered out loud. Gluten free, yes. But not CERTIFIED gluten-free, and for those of us with celiac, that is not a small gap. It surprises me for a company so strict with testing their essential oils for purity.

A few days ago, I received an answer from product support that I need to check each product listing for allergens. (I asked for a gluten-free list.) They list the top allergens on EACH bottle and supplement fact sheet. I have to do my own research.

So a label may tell me it contains wheat. What it will not tell me is whether there is barley, or rye, or contaminated oats, or any of the other places gluten quietly hides.

And here is what makes that research a moving target. Formulas change. Labeling changes. Manufacturers change. A supplement I checked and cleared two years ago is not necessarily the same supplement sitting on the shelf today, and nobody sends me a letter when something is reformulated or when a new supplier comes on board. I would have to re-check every product, every time, forever.

And small exposures add up. For me that looks like dragging myself through the day, one compounding day after another.

So I no longer take any of their supplements other than essential oils.

• • •

I prayed about this. Desperately. I asked for a way to care for my own health and the health of the people in my home without walking away from person to person sales and marketing, which I genuinely love, and which has changed so many lives.

The answer came two days later.

I actually started crying while my friends were talking to me, and I kept apologizing because I could not explain why. No, I was not pregnant. No, it was not hormonal. I just knew.

Fast forward. I am writing again. My brain and my body feel alive, because of what I am taking now. I am better able to serve my doTERRA community because of it!

Lyme. Mexico. Learning to speak English again, learning to walk and talk again, years of relearning simple math. Exercise as medicine. Dancing. Relapse. Starting over again.

Many of you know the history. Then volunteering at the temple one day a week. Finally finishing math and graduating college. Then passing my paralegal course and exam. Then actually working as a paralegal. And still, for the longest time, feeling like a Spanish speaking woman trapped in an English speaking woman's body every time I opened my mouth or tried to write a sentence.

And now here I am. Writing.

• • •

So let me tell you what this means and what it does not mean.

I am still here. I post in my group daily and I am still sharing my love of essential oils there. I am still going to convention in Florida. I still reach out to my people. I am still devoted to the mission, and I have seen far too many miracles to ever be quiet about it.

But I want to be upfront with those of you I have personally recommended products to, because I have tried to be an example of living well with celiac.

Please know that I cannot recommend the supplements to anyone who is gluten intolerant or has celiac disease. Plenty of people take them and do beautifully, and I am not saying otherwise. I am saying I cannot put my name on them for our community.

For my doTERRA family, this is not goodbye.

It is just me telling you plainly that Celiac Shack is now promoting something that is gluten-free and built around test based nutrition. Please do not be alarmed. Nothing about my love for you has changed.

I feel I am able to help more people who understand the path I have had to navigate. I truly am able to serve everyone better now.

With much love,
Steffanie

I am an independent doTERRA Wellness Advocate and an independent Zinzino partner, and I earn a commission on products purchased through my links. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, and none of it is medical advice. This post reflects my own experience and my own decision about what is right for my body and my family. Product formulations, ingredients, and allergen information change over time, so always verify current information directly with the manufacturer before purchasing. Please work with your own qualified healthcare provider regarding your health.