Empowering others to regain control of their health has been deep-rooted in my DNA for as long as I can remember. I have been a lifelong athlete, wellness enthusiast, and nutrition “guru” constantly searching for ways to optimize physical performance and develop a healthy, attractive physique which made understanding all the nuances of human physiology a necessary prerequisite.

As a medical professional I have worked on both ends of the healthcare spectrum. Over the years I have cared for a diverse group of individuals in a wide range of healthcare settings and along the health-illness continuum. In other words, I have cared for the very sick, sometimes critically ill, as well as those who are simply looking to optimize their health, while also providing care to all those in between.

I noticed early on that my conventional medicine training and subsequent life experiences did not align with the wellness model.

While following the mainstream nutrition and lifestyle groupthink taught through most nutrition programs and certification courses along with the advice of my athlete community, my health began to decline. Finally, after 7 years of competitive CrossFit training without the proper support my body decided it had enough and I went into a major depression.

Although my wellness seeking patients are what mostly inspired me to advance my natural health education, I was also searching for answers to my own looming questions concerning my increasingly debilitating health problems.

I suffered from horrible digestive issues including a severe gut permeability problem, aka leaky gut with systemic candida yeast overgrowth, blood sugar dysregulation, debilitating full body aches and pains, excruciating PMS, and extreme mood swings on a backdrop of body dysmorphia, eating disorders, addictive behavior, anxiety, and depression.

This is what characterized everyday life for me at the time, but I could not quite figure out what I was doing wrong, or better yet, what I was NOT doing right! I was a highly trained healthcare professional with certifications in nutrition science. I had read numerous books about health and nutrition. What was it I did not know?

Turns out, EVERYTHING! During my training in natural health sciences and functional medicine, I had several revelations, “light bulb moments” so to speak. What I began learning clearly explained all the discrepancies I observed between what I believed to be true healthcare, and what I now refer to as “sick care,” best describing the current state of conventional medicine.

True health care is preventive in nature, does no harm, and involves holistically guided wellness with the patient at the center of his or her own plan of care. Very different from artificial health chemically sustained by pharmaceutical drugs and a reactive approach to disease stonewalled by faulty genetics.

Various pieces to the long, unsolved health and wellness puzzle started to come together as I learned more about natural medicine and its history. Common nutritional beliefs were dispelled, and mainstream medical and health-related dogma was exposed. Yet, things began to make more sense than ever. This is when I realized that the best patient care could only be provided through independent thought, thorough investigation, and most importantly the ability to be humble. Humble enough to recognize when ideology and allegiances to dogma may obstruct a truly holistic vision. Sound patient care requires an open-mindedness and ability to explore the unknown, despite the degree of discomfort it may invoke. It requires questioning everything, including long standing convictions, even when they are our own and the avoidance of blind trust in ANY person or institution.

Holistic health care is just as it sounds. It considers the patient in his or her entirety and in connection with their environment. It makes use of all healing modalities across the various health sciences that are suitable for the patient and their unique condition.

Integrative medicine is based on the principles of holism and natural medicine. It encourages the use of all possible, appropriate, and available treatments to best serve the individual in need. This is what I love about Integrative care. There are endless treatment options helping to ensure long-term patient success. If one option does not work, there are many more to try. It also joins the best of both natural and conventional treatments for the most comprehensive and effective patient care.

After my natural health training and over the years, I gravitated mostly to the depths of nutrition science, including deficiency syndromes, gut health, detoxification, hormone balancing, and herbal medicine. As I began applying my new knowledge to patient care, I watched miracles happen, including many positive changes in my own health. More recently I have enjoyed learning and applying intravenous therapies, complex homeopathics, lymphatic drainage, spagyric herbals and light therapy. Conventional nursing has taught me the many complements that holistic health care may have to one’s traditional treatments and how to best integrate them.