Do you ever feel like your healthy lifestyle efforts aren’t paying off in the ways you had imagined?
Maybe you drink green smoothies, shop at the farmers market, avoid GMO’s, sugar and processed food. You’ve even given up dairy. But you’re STILL struggling. You’re not losing weight, your energy is low, you struggle with brain fog and just can’t seem to focus.
I promise, it’s not for lack of effort and your healthy habits aren’t worthless!
It’s just that, there is something else going on.
And it’s likely that no amount of healthy eating, hours logged at the gym or sun salutations at the yoga studio will do what they’re supposed to, until it gets figured out. You may be eating ALL the right foods. (Kale! Chia! Turmeric in everything!) But even these healthy foods may not be working with your body in the way you need them to right now, due to underlying conditions.
Your body may be reacting to unrealized food sensitivities. Or maybe you have an undiagnosed auto-immune condition. Your hormones may be out of whack. You may be suffering from blood sugar imbalances, wreaking havoc with your insulin and shutting down your metabolism. There may be a breakdown in your digestive system, and you may not be absorbing the nutrients from your healthy food, leaving you malnourished despite eating the “right foods”. Because here’s the thing. You are not just what you eat. You are what you absorb.
There’s a hidden health crisis going on that I see every day (in addition to the OBVIOUS health crisis).
“Healthy” people, doing all the “right” things, but still struggling with agonizing symptoms due to inflammation, autoimmune issues, hormone imbalances, candida (yeast overgrowth), toxicity, and more. And this is not being addressed by conventional medicine, because a prescription to remedy symptoms does not heal and doesn’t get to the root of what is going on inside. If you’re struggling to feel your best, despite what you may feel are monumental efforts, there is something deeper going on, that is going to take some detective work.
There are many reasons why it’s gotten so complicated and people are struggling so much. Just the tip of the iceberg is the Standard American Diet, then there is the completely messed up food system, the toxic mess that is our wheat and corn supply (and Americans are addicted to wheat and corn), poor soil quality, environmental toxins, the constant demands (and EMF’s) of technology, high stress levels, and on and on and on. And this is just the beginning of what we are dealing with in our modern world.
The modern world is tough on our health. There is no getting around it.
When I started working for functional medicine doctors last year, I knew I would be coaching patients who were dealing with chronic illness. I knew I would be seeing patients who had tried everything, including going to countless doctors over countless years, but never healing. I expected to see people who have always eaten a standard American diet and are now suffering with chronic disease.
What I didn’t expect, was to see so many people who are trying SO HARD to live healthy lifestyles and still suffering. People who are well educated about diet and lifestyle, have already given up toxic and processed food and eat their greens daily. And it has helped, to a point. They can manage but are not thriving the way they know they should, and are still suffering with a lack or vitality, chronic joint pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, weight loss resistance, skin problems, and more. And the kids have issues too. Trouble with focus, behavioral complaints, skin rashes, headaches, constipation. Kids are being doled out various diagnoses and prescriptions at alarming rates. Antibiotics are prescribed at the drop of a hat. This is a HUGE problem and wreaking havoc with the immune systems of our kids.
Even food can be complicated. Food can be powerful medicine, or it can be poison (especially if you make poor choices and continue to eat food that harms your body). We can have the healthiest diet in the world, but if our body is struggling to process this food because of a lack of enzymes, food allergies, food sensitivities, or other genetic/biological reasons, our body will treat that food as a toxin. It is so important that we all find our own individual plan for nutrition and healing which we can thrive on!
That’s where functional nutrition comes in. Functional nutrition is individualized nutrition. It looks at the foundational way that food affects your body on the cellular level. Food is much more than calories, in fact there is so much information in every bite of food that you eat! This info comes into your body, effects how your cells behave and how you feel.
This approach to nutrition also allows you to shift into your own power, be pro-active, to take ownership over your own health through understanding and self-knowledge.
We don’t have to accept poor health, a lack of vitality or struggle with nagging issues as we get older. And our kids don’t need to struggle either. There is hope for everyone and my mission is to help people find it! We can all thrive and live this ONE life with energy, vitality and purpose.
Last week I began a deep dive into functional nutrition study, beginning a 10-month training for all of the above reasons. Yes, so I can help those in obvious health crisis, but so I can help you too, when you can’t figure out the answers for why you don’t feel as good as you know you should, and you’ve tried everything. I want to help you discover those root issues, the deeper issues that are behind the nagging symptoms.
Oh, and I’m also on a mission to age well (and to help you age well!). I don’t feel my age, and I don’t plan on it anytime soon!
I’ve been chomping at the bit for months, waiting to take my next steps on this journey. Now I’m delving deep into the systems of the body to learn exactly how the food we eat impacts every single system: digestive, immune, endocrine, nervous, cardiovascular, and reproductive and how the breakdowns occur that lead to the struggles we can’t seem to get past.
It’s going to be a journey, but I’m looking forward to sharing what I learn along the way, so stay tuned!
