The catalyst for everything to change started with a phone call. While working at Warner Bros. Pictures in Burbank, California as a Senior Media Research Analyst, this phone call informed me that my mother was diagnosed with Stage-3 breast cancer and was going into emergency surgery.

Within weeks, I moved back to my home state, Colorado, to be closer to my mother and support her through chemo and radiation. Through my search for her cure, I discovered the power of healthy foods and lifestyle choices as the real medicine for illness. My new discovery led me back to school where I studied holistic and functional nutrition then later functional medicine. My studies left me fascinated, and I was 100% hooked! 

At this point, I started to analyze my own fast-paced lifestyle and realized that I was putting blinders on my own health. Often I was fatigued and didn't feel well, but blamed it on my competitive job and late-night social events. I worked through it all, never stopping to listen to my body. I didn’t consider the importance of my food choices, sleep or stress management. Later, testing revealed Epstein Barr Virus, also known as the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I started to put my health puzzle together. I discovered major gluten and other food intolerances, hypothyroidism, and gut imbalances including H pylori. At one point, it was so bad (coupled with stress) I became anemic and my hair was falling out in clumps. Something had to change…

So I immersed myself in a new lifestyle and career. For my first six years, I worked as a Nutritionist at a nationwide natural food and supplement store. This is where I conducted private nutrition therapy sessions, taught weekly nutrition and cooking classes, educated and tested 40+ employees monthly on nutrition subjects, and hosted annual health and gluten-free tasting fairs. I received extensive training, knowledge, and experience in targeted nutrients, minerals, food, and herbal supplements. I was featured in nutrition segments on television and radio and presented nutrition classes to national and local organizations, companies, and associations.

Then for a few years, I was employed as a Functional Nutritionist in functional medicine practices working side-by-side with MDs (Medical Doctors). The goal with all of our patients was to find underlying root causes, often digging deeper with cutting-edge lab testing, to create solutions. By employing a system to document each client’s actions, events, and environmental influences that had accumulated during their life, we analyzed patterns, correlations, and triggers that ranged from specific foods, environmental exposures, and habits. I coached each client tailored to their needs and goals. It included customized food plans, targeted nutrients,  and supplementation, plus lifestyle recommendations individualized for each person.