I have recently come to understand that fatigue is caused by so many factors, with sleep just being one of them.  Nutrition, exercise, hormones, stress -- they all play a large factor on your level of energy on a day to day basis.  But one of the largest factors, which I don't think is talked about nearly enough, is the MENTAL load that so many of us carry.  I'm talking about the to-do list of minutia that each of us have in our brains in a running fashion, that feels like it never ends (and without which, our families just may not function). Read More

This month has been challenging on the personal and family front.  Dealing with some sicknesses and some unfortunate incidents have left me, and many around me, emotionally drained.  But it’s also been a month of reflection and learning-- because if we don’t learn from life’s challenges to face them better and bolder the next time around, then what’s the point, right?  Life is always going to throw us curve balls.  The question is: how do we face these and grow from these bumps in the road? Read More

My almost 5 year old was in the middle of another crying/screaming fest and I was fighting back my own tears.  I thought this was supposed to get easier with the second child? I thought that by this age, these meltdowns were supposed to stop?  Why is it that he just won’t listen to simple requests?  Why does brushing his teeth and putting on PJ’s become an epic negotiation, every single night? Why is a simple request to please just go to sleep seem like I’m asking him to jump off a cliff? There’s no way everyone else has this much trouble with their kids.  I just can’t handle this anymore.  I’m a crappy parent, let’s just admit it and say it as it is.   Read More

I gave up coffee.  Totally cold turkey, and it’s totally fine. I’m here to tell you that I’m still here to tell you :)  Why?  Because I finally figured out what my body needs right now to thrive.  And yes, some of it is the soft woo woo stuff, but a lot of it is based in hard science with tests that show what’s off balance biochemically.   Read More

One of the key tenets I have learned through my study of functional medicine is that reaching and maintaining a state of wellness does not need to be complicated.  In fact, there are three main areas in which to focus.  The first is to Maximize what you (as a unique individual) needs, the 2nd is to Minimize what you DON’t Need, and the 3rd is to Prioritize an environment for healing.  Read More

Over the course of the last year as I have continued my study at the School of Applied Functional Medicine, I have found myself in conversations with friends and family where I get asked the same question: “What is functional medicine health coaching and how is it different from visiting my regular doctor? How do I know if I should seek out a functional medicine practitioner?” Read More

If you are like millions of people in America, you might suffer from symptoms of acid reflux.  Burning in your chest after eating, belching, bloating and lots of gas.  Many people suffer from these types of symptoms, and quickly reach for over the counter remedies like Tums or proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) such as Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium.  But what most people are often surprised to hear is that these over the counter meds can actually be doing their bodies more harm than good. Read More

The circumstances of the collective in this moment, with a raging pandemic that doesn’t feel like it’s ever going to cease, and heightened anxiety around the election in the U.S., are anything but conducive to optimal health.  These circumstances for many are stressful, anxiety inducing, chaotic and uncomfortable.  So, as you can imagine, all of this is also wreaking havoc on our health - physically, emotionally, mentally, biochemically -- basically, in all ways possible.  What we must remember is that we WILL get through it, eventually. Read More

One of the largest challenges we all face: time - or more specifically, not seeming to have enough of it to do all the things that we have to do on a daily basis.  So, when I talk to people about prioritizing their health, one of the first obstacles I often hear is just this - "I don't have time to do all that - how am I supposed to fit in exercising, cooking healthy meals, meditating, etc with my full time job and all my responsibilities?"   Read More

I had the chance to speak to a group of women about gut health recently, and realized that I've never written a blog post about the almighty gut....so I wanted to take a few quick minutes to talk about this oh-so-important part of your body (that really is a hub for both wellness and illness throughout the entire body).   Many people don't know that it's such a huge hub for health, and therefore don't understand how important it is to care about what's going on there for the health of the entire body.  The truth is, the gut is often the place where most imbalance and dysregulation begins (or can NOT begin!) Read More