Certified Functional Nutrition and Lifestyle Practitioner
Balanced Health Through Nutrition
How I Work
What is Functional Nutrition?
Functional Nutrition revolves around the idea of getting to the root cause of disease and disorders in the body rather than treating the symptoms.
Using systems and frameworks I am able to identify the factors that are preventing the body from functioning as its peak, and support the systems that need it, allowing the body to heal itself more effectively.
The body is very complex. It is one large system with hundreds of smaller systems that operate together to keep you healthy. It’s so important to understand that we can’t simply look at a symptom that may be impacting for example the respiratory system without looking at the liver or the health of the gut. Everything is truly connected.
The role of a Functional Nutrition coach is to work with you to investigate the underlying causes of your health issues, and then help you to create a sustainable action plan to support the body in healing itself.
Each person is different therefore a customized approach is necessary to tailor a plan that is unique to an individual. I don’t work with set diets or protocols, because what may work well for one may not work well for another. I specifically create a plan that honors you, your body, and your lifestyle.
- This might include bringing in a plan to reduce inflammation, support certain organs or organ systems, and optimizing gut health through a solid nutrition and lifestyle plan.
- Running specific functional labs if deemed absolutely necessary as they can be very costly. I personally believe in clearing inflammatory foods, addressing lifestyle, and working to bring the body into a state of calm before going to expensive labs. There’s so much work that can be done first to support the body. I genuinely believe in helping my clients to keep their costs as low as possible. Oftentimes, a simple CBC (complete blood count) panel that you may have already had done within the last year can provide a wealth of information about what’s going on inside. If you haven’t had one done recently, I have access to affordable lab testing for my clients.
- On-going coaching to help you to troubleshoot any challenges that come your way as you follow your individualized healing plan and to observe the root cause of your health challenges as your health improves. My ultimate goal is for you to become self-sufficient and the master of your health that will carry you forward for life through education, empowerment, and learning how to listen to what your body might be telling you.
Everything is truly connected.
A holistic approach – your journey to health should not be just a single diet, specific food, or supplement. It should include an assessment of nutrition and lifestyle habits to include: sleep/relaxation, exercise/movement, nutrition/hydration, stress/resilience, relationships/networks, and more.
It’s also important to assess:
- Poop – this gives us clues about the health of your gut and overall health
- Sleep – This is so crucial, because this is when the body does most of its healing and repair work
- Blood Sugar – This is a big one! Blood sugar that is not balanced can manifest as hormonal imbalances, mood, sleep challenges, your ability to handle stress, immune system function, mental health, and so much more.
It doesn’t matter what stage of health or disease you are at, food and lifestyle can be used to shift the terrain within towards a state of health, and away from driving disease and dysfunction. This approach not only focuses on preventing disease and symptoms, but also helps to bring balance to the body to address what’s currently going on for you. Everyone is unique, everything in the body is connected, and everything we do has an impact on our health.
I have found that people often feel trapped by their genes. They believe that they are destined to get a particular disease or disorder because they’re parents, siblings, or grandparents were diagnosed with something. The truth is that nutrition and lifestyle impact whether those genes are turned on or off. This is known as epi-genetics or above genes. Food and lifestyle matter! The key is in learning how to turn those genes off.
All symptoms and disease exist in an environment. If you can shift the environment within then you set the stage for healing and repair to take place within the body instead.
My example of this is to imagine planting the same plant in 2 different pots.
In the first pot you’ve purchased a top quality soil, you’ve added great nutrients to it, and you’ve really infused a tremendous amount of loving care to planting the first plant into the soil.
In the second pot, you bought the cheapest nutrient-poor soil, you didn’t mix anything into it to nourish the roots and ultimately the plant itself.
Which one do you think will not do well and possibly get a disease? That’s right! The second one!
I teach my clients how to love and care for their body like you imagined doing with the first plant to set the stage for optimal health and create an environment that will work for you, not against you.
To make this happen, we work to:
- Clear the muddy waters
- Bring your body from deficiency to sufficiency
- Dismantle dysfunction
When going it alone, it can be overwhelming to sort through all of the information out there including fad diets, differing dietary theories, and opinions on how to reduce stress and the type of exercise you should be doing. It’s not the same for everyone! We are all different. That’s why working with someone to help you to navigate through your healing journey is so important.
If you’re tired of trying to attain optimal health on your own and you keep falling short on making the changes that you want to make, then it may be time to reach out to determine if my services are right for you.
I provide both in-person and virtual health coaching sessions. Whether you want to chat in your pajamas or you’re outside of my local area, we can still set forth a plan that will allow you to achieve the state of health so that you can live the life you deserve.
I offer a free 30-minute discovery call to potential clients. I believe that it’s very important to find a Functional Nutrition Coach that you feel comfortable with. Not all Nutrition coaches practice the same way. I firmly believe that whoever you choose to be part of your healthcare team needs to be someone that you feel you can openly talk to about your health challenges for maximum success on your health journey.