The Lens of Functional Nutrition

Allow me to introduce you to the lens of Functional Nutrition.  

First and foremost, empathy is the emotional compass we use in relationship with clients.  

Let me explain what that means.  

Empathy.  

The s i n g l e most important word.  

My health experience and what I’ve heard from countless others who suffer chronic health challenges is that we do not feel heard or seen in regards to our unique set of symptoms and circumstances by conventionally trained medical providers.    

Yes, there are the outliers who have remarkable bedside manner but they are the outliers.  

Medical appointments have been reduced to tweet sized portions lasting no longer than 15 minutes.  

Complex symptoms are not easily described in 280 characters.  

I’ll never forget an appointment in 2011 with my former gynecologist feeling desperate during peri-menopause with my wacky menstrual, temperature and mood swings.  All I really wanted was to be seen, heard and possibly provided a tip, tool and a dose of hope.  Nope, that was not happening.  She had her formula of twenty years for women suffering perimenopausal symptoms and it did not reach beyond pharmacology.  

Prescribing medication requires a few clicks and strokes of a keyboard.  Efficient.

Empathy NOT required.  

I would have left her office feeling much better if she would have at least listened to me as opposed to being quick to categorize me with every other woman in her practice.

Comparing women’s cycles is like comparing fingerprints!  Impossible.  

Beyond the blood, we are complex human beings.  Our physical bodies are the embodiment of our DNA, experiences and interpretation of our life events and circumstances and exposures to toxins, world events, accidents etc. on micro and macro levels.   

Our health story (our history) needs to be heard and considered relative to our health challenges.  

In Functional Nutrition, we lead with empathy as we embark on understanding health cases.

This brings me to how we, as Functional Nutrition Practitioners, look at health challenges.  

First, we look at each case individually.  We get up close and personal.  Yes, we get into your business because we have to, remember, empathy is our emotional compass.     

We seek to understand and take into consideration the myriad aspects of your history and life.  

Each individual person is their own physical, emotional, mental and spiritual matrix.  The presenting symptoms of health challenges require detective work to uncover what’s going on underneath the surface.  

Treating symptoms is like cutting off a weed at ground level. 

It’s going to grow back.  Even though the weed is no longer visible, beneath the soil, the roots grow stronger and more expansive.    

The Functional Nutrition lens digs deep into the soil, or underneath the symptom, in pursuit of the root causes of the symptom.  

My gynecologist was not interested in taking the time to discover the why or root causes of my wild menstrual, mood and temperature swings.  

The Functional lens does not look at systems of the body in isolation.  

For example, as I took the time to dig into the soil of my hormonal challenges, I realized my blood sugar and cortisol levels were high.   I also had low thyroid function.   This set of circumstances would have been connected to the symptoms I presented to my gynecologist.  She totally missed this in preference of prescribing an anti-depressant which was her protocol for middle aged women in menopause transition.  

You may be familiar with the idea that what impacts one, impacts the whole.  The Functional perspective respects this belief.   

Taking a deep dive into your history and life triggers and discovering what makes your symptoms better or worse is serious detective work that takes time because the soil of your life is unique to you.  

Your case is unique because you have:

• an unequaled history and DNA
• unparalleled stressors and life events 
• exposure to different environmental toxins
• different interpretation of all of the above

There is no way to apply one protocol for all clients solely based on symptoms.   

Our conventional medical system and its burdensome multi-payer insurance system is currently not set up to take the time to unwind and interpret your unique matrix!  

Recent data shows a drop in life expectancy for the first time in decades in the USA.  Seriously.  Consider the ROI.  We spend exponentially more per capita on health and our outcomes are shrinking.  P I T I F U L results.  

Do you want to feel better (temporarily) or be healed?  The choice is yours.

The conventional route is not interested in healing your depression, anxiety or auto-immune condition.

A prescription may make you feel better temporarily but wouldn’t you rather pursue healing and reach for feeling more vibrant ten years from now?  

The Functional Nutrition lens is focused on healing and this is our process.  

We create client health history timelines spanning from the time you spent in your mother’s womb up to current history.  

We are detectives looking for clues as to why your genes are expressing themselves with a given set of symptoms.  This is matrix bending!   

It can be an arduous process however, let me remind you that we lead with empathy.  

When you have support, education and coaching cradled under an umbrella of empathy, you can climb your mountain towards health.  

I believe we are on the precipice of a healthcare overhaul.  

I encourage you to be curious about your symptoms and pursue what might be contributing to their expression.   

Believe that you have the power to positively impact your health.   You really do!   If I can shift my health, you can too.  

My wish for you is that you feel empowered, educated and capable of being Vitally You and not  a dimmed version because dis-ease has impeded life choices.   

Dis-ease is not just physical.  We are also emotional, mental and spiritual beings.  We are our own matrix!  How cool is that?  Can I get a high-five to matrix bending on behalf of a vibrant life?