Your gut is your gateway to

health or illness and what you put

in your body is the key.

You house an incredible 25 feet of intestines! This is where you absorb your nutrients from food, make your feel good neurotransmitters and where a vast network of immune cells and nerve cells reside. When your gut isn’t working properly, it affects every system in the body from your brain to your hormones and immune system.  

Every year, people go to their health care provider to get their annual checkup and along with that checkup comes a CBC/CMP/blood workup. These are the panels that your health care provider uses to screen for health issues and its what I see the most frequently when meeting with new clients. 

It’s quite common for people in my office to note that they don’t "feel like themselves" and yet they had their annual blood workup done and their doctor said everything appears within the “normal” range.

I had a couple of interesting appointments last week...

A woman came to see me covered in a red rash complaining of inflamed joints. She shared with me that her whole body felt “totally off.” Her doctor had run a couple of standard lab panels, and yet, the only bandaid that he could give her for her joint pain was a prescription for steroids. This woman was clearly dealing with symptoms associated with an autoimmune situation yet her doctor mentioned nothing about diet or any natural anti-inflammatory support.

A young woman in her early 30s reached out to me who had stopped cycling and had high cholesterol levels. Her provider had put her on statins to lower her cholesterol and offered a prescription for birth control pills to help "regulate the cycle." The dietary advice given was to consume a low-fat diet as well.  He had not taken into consideration the fact that the body uses cholesterol to make steroid hormones and was giving her medication to suppress the cholesterol, thereby reinforcing the issue. 

I live in Northern California in a coastal town surrounded by vineyards and pot farms. Most people who live in the “Emerald Triangle” have been steeped in the medicinal properties of cannabis for decades now, but truth be told, the medicinal use of cannabis predates recorded history.

I am not a cannabis user; however, I jumped onto the CBD bandwagon after I experienced the profound anti-inflammatory, sleep-inducing, and pain relieving herbal compound for myself. But don’t take my word for it, the CBD industry reported 518 million dollars in 2018 and is projected to reach 22 billion dollars by 2022. It is quite clear that with the legalization of cannabis across the US, this plant is going to continue to grow in its popularity and its medicinal uses are likely to expand exponentially as well.

Do you constantly feel like you are juggling too many things at once? Does your sleep and energy feel off? Is weight gain an issue regardless of exercise?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are most likely dealing with imbalanced cortisol levels.

In todays society, I believe the pace of life is unsustainable. Most women my age can relate to “wonder woman syndrome” which is merely a term that describes the predicament of woman who are raising children, working or running their own businesses and taking care of everyone and everything in between. Quite frankly, the speed of life’s requirements leave most everyone overworked and exhausted. While our bodies are designed to whether high stress levels temporarily, we are not designed to operate on all cylinders at all times. This will lead to sky high cortisol which invariably leads to adrenal fatigue.

Most people interested in growing old gracefully agree that supporting brain health and preventing cognitive decline is a priority if they want to live a long and healthy life.

In this day and age, neurodegenerative disease is at an all time high, making it a necessity to put in place as much cognitive support as you can, as early as possible, to offset the chances of developing neurodegenerative disease. While most people reading this may feel too young to have to think about Alzheimers or Parkinsons, research shows that neurodegenerative disease can plague a person for up to 20 years BEFORE they even receive any traditional

symptoms of neurodegeneration. My experience has taught me that an ounce of prevention is much better than a pound of cure!

Thanks to the groundbreaking research that has been done in the field of neuroscience, it is now a well known fact that some of the first telltale signs of poor cognitive health show up with poor sleep patterns.

Did you know that you have

a wandering nerve in your body that is

the boss of your nervous system?

Did you know that inflammation, and the ability to bond, and go to the bathroom is directly influenced by this nerve function?

In functional medicine, research now shows that this nerve may be a missing link to treating chronic inflammation, and new medical technologies are creating a field of treatment using vagal nerve stimulation that leaves the use of medication in the dust. 

“You can’t pour from an empty vessel,

take time to fill yourself with acts of self care”.

This evening as I forced my aching bones into a bath tub filled with epsom salt and essential oils, my mind drifted to earlier days before endless tasks involving raising kids, cooking, cleaning, driving and working. There was a time before children when I prioritized my need for quiet and and took to writing and contemplation and reading. These days when I forget to practice self care, I “pay the piper” physically, and I doubt I am alone in this.

In this day and age, self care tends to be captured on Instagram and social media and displayed in the cliche form of luxuries such as spa treatments and vacations. But what if the bones of self care are less grandiose than that and more simplistic yet meaningful?

Your internal ecology

is the key to your health.

I liken this ecology to a rainforest, existing in symbiotic harmony with the creatures and plants that live there.

With a balanced ecosystem, life exists as nature intended, reflecting a healthy terrain. However, when the ecosystem goes out of balance due to environmental changes, disruption often occurs causing damage.

The end result of this disruption manifests as new species of plants and animals not indigenous to the area move in and take over the weaker or less dominant plants and animals. The long term results ultimately create a process that can set the stage for imbalance and disease.

Colostrum has a lengthy history of therapeutic uses and benefits. Known best as natures “first food”, I first came across its use while studying Ayurveda.

In India, Ayurvedic physicians have used colostrum for thousands of years to help heal the body and enhance longevity. It is also used by India’s Rishis (spiritual teachers) as an exception to their vegan diet, for its spiritual and physiological benefits.

In Europe, colostrum has been a traditional folk remedy and tonic. In the United States, conventional doctors have consistently used colostrum as a natural antibiotic prior to the introduction of sulfa drugs and penicillin and in the 1950s colostrum was implemented in the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. It was also used in 1950 by Dr Albert Sabin, (the researcher who developed the first oral vaccine for poliomyelitis) who found that colostrum contained antibodies against polio.

In this day and age most people operate at full speed on all cylinders from morning until night.

The momentum needed to keep everything going as we work and raise families can leave us “wired and tired”.

As a result, the circadian rhythm that governs the natural cycles of the body can go awry. One of the end results of this tail spin can show up in our sleep patterns. So its not surprising that when it comes to decompressing at night time, nearly 1/3 of Americans are sleep deprived. That means they struggle to get to sleep, stay asleep and wake up refreshed.

Neurogenesis is a new buzz word in the community of biohacking and there have been revolutionary discoveries in this new frontier regarding brain health.

I dove head first into this field of study two years ago while studying Functional Diagnostic Nutrition and recently devoured two books on brain health that have radically changed my perspective on the healing process. “Why isn’t my brain working?” by Dr. Datis Kharrazian explores the brain gut connection, and “Brain Maker” by Dr. David Perlmutter explores the microbiota and its connection to brain and body health.

Well the good news is, there are a multitude of ways we can support our brain function and neurogenesis may hold the key to optimizing and unlocking your brains longevity factor.

I was enrolled this last winter in a digestive intensive with Andrea Nakayama exploring the role of the gut in healing chronic illness. This topic hits very close to home for me as I have been working to strengthen my own families gut health for the past 5 years. This intensive provided an eye opening amount of detailed information pertaining to how we can heal this incredibly complex and interconnected system and why its such a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to healing the body. The truth of the matter is that, the gut is implicated in every single system in the body and 70% of all Americans dysfunction in their lifetime. So whether a person is dealing with depression, skin conditions, allergies, MS, autoimmune conditions, cancer, etc... it is simply impossible to address issues without taking a serious look at the workings of the gut.

My personal quest and question for the past 8 years has been: 

“How can I master my own health?”

After resurfacing from the dark depths of imbalance I find myself constantly striving to meet a new standard for radiant health that continues to awaken in me higher and higher levels of energy and stamina.

Ultimately, I believe that we are wired for mastery and there are tools available for us that can help us at every turn. One such tool that I feel compelled to share was brought to my attention while I was participating in the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition program. At that time, I had the opportunity to run and study markers as well as the results of the spectracell micronutrient test to get a thorough assessment of my nutritional status.

  My favorite go to health tools for supporting my families immunity during the winter.

Even though we live in California, its starting to get cold outside and I am beginning to hear the sneezing in the grocery store and can see with undue certainty that the cold and flu season is on its way. Thats ok. I have my arsenal at home. And when I implement these things into my families routine, I notice my children simply don’t come home with the torrent of cold and flu symptoms that other families continuously have to deal with.

The first time I heard about ozone therapy was while I was taking a workshop at the Four Winds Society in LA. It was during a period of time when I was at the lowest point I can remember physically. Determined to find deeper keys to unlock my healing potential, I decided to embark on a workshop in shamanic light body training taught by Alberto Villoldo. I enrolled with about 250 other healers of different sorts. In this huge hall filled with people, I happened to be sitting next to a man wielding a very high quality low lever laser. As fate should have it, I ended up partnering up for an exercise with this guy, the renowned biohacker Dave Asprey, founder of the bulletproof executive website. Without being privy to any knowledge of his experience in the realm of biohacking, he casually shared with me that he had healed from Lyme disease using ozone. It is worth mentioning that at the time I had no idea why I felt so awful.

I have been using PEMF on my family as well as my clients for almost 5 years now. It is a tool that I have used personally for pain relief and to support the healing process of the body. This technology is still new to people in the states although it has been used in hospitals all over Europe for decades now and the research on PEMF is quite frankly, astounding.

Pulsed electromagnetic frequency therapy uses low earth based frequencies to stimulate a potassium pump in the cell walls. The cells respond by increasing the oxygen to activate and regenerate cells. This therapy can produce stunning regenerative effects because these magnetic fields result in cells generating so much naturally derived energy that they are able to repair themselves. 

I recently attended David Wolfes Longevity Now conference. This is an event put on by, none other than, nutrition guru David Wolfe. The diverse range of guest speakers are dedicated to sharing new and innovative research in the field of health. While sitting in the audience I couldn’t help but key into a buzzword that was mentioned by many of the different speakers. The word was biofeedback. I also found myself especially drawn to the research shared by Dr Sara Gottfried on Heartmath. This company has created biofeedback tools which allow anyone using the device to gain a window into both their hearts and brains in order to self manage their stress response. This is done by monitoring their heart rate variability. Heart rate variability (HRV) is defined as the physiological phenomenon of variation in the time interval between heartbeats.  It is measured by the variation in the beat-to-beat interval.

Sweating doesn’t come naturally to me. My body runs cold and it usually takes about 30 minutes in a 130 degree infrared sauna for my body to turn on the water works. But that is precisely why I own a sauna and use it religiously. When one of my children tested positive for heavy metals, we decided to invest in an Thermal Life infrared sauna that was designed specifically for detoxification. It has since become our “womb room” and has been a key player in keeping my elimination channels flowing.

Some people wrinkle their noses at detoxification methods like saunas, especially if they are not feeling well to begin with... yes, you have to really ease into the temperatures gradually and you do get really sweaty but you reap amazing health benefits.