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FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION

Functional Nutrition addresses the underlying root causes of symptoms and diseases.

Functional nutrition embraces both conventional and complementary therapies to health and healing.

Functional Nutrition is a “Whole” or Holistic Approach to Health and Disease — looking at whole body systems, the body and spirit as a whole, and the body as it relates and connects to its whole environment and ecology.

“Food as Medicine,” is one of the primary aspects of Functional Nutrition. This includes whole-food therapies and targeted dietary supplements.

Functional Nutrition addresses the underlying causes or roots of disease and utilizes therapies and lifestyle changes to help the body get back into a state of wellness, balance and social and emotional harmony.

Functional Nutrition incorporates therapies that support the body’s natural healing processes. It supports the body to heal, rather than attempting to mask problematic symptoms.

Functional Nutrition addresses the fundamental aspects of health which are often ignored, especially when dealing with chronic diseases that affect our quality of life.

Each person’s lifestyle, environmental factors, emotional well-being, spirituality, and social supports factor into nutrition assessments and personalized treatment modalities, as do their genetic profile or predisposition, triggers, and mediators.

As a functional nutrition practitioner I look at:

  • foods you eat and drink, your nutritional status, and hydration
  • how you (or if you) sleep or relax
  • if and how you exercise, and how you move and breathe
  • kinds of stress(ors) you are under, how resilient you are, and how well you cope
  • kinds of personal relationships and social networks you have
  • if you have experienced trauma (physical, emotional, or mental) and if these traumas have ever been addressed
  • environmental pollutants you have been exposed to
  • microbial ecology of your body
  • well-researched relevant SNPs (or genetic variations) that can impact nutritional status
  • your medical history, medications, nutrition supplements, lab tests

As an Integrative and Functional Registered Dietitian Nutritionist I work with whole foods, targeted supplements and lifestyle enhancements to help optimize health.

My assessments focus on finding the root causes of a person’s health problems. To do this I look at as many pieces of information or clues as possible….and then connect the dots. I look at all body systems, core imbalances, and biomarkers, as well as genetics, metabolic pathways, and lifestyle.

 

Optimal health is more than just managing symptoms. It’s about addressing the body’s imbalances at its root, where it begins, and implementing personalized strategies to help the body heal. I do this with nutrient-dense foods and supportive supplements as well as lifestyle.