Like many practitioners, my personal health issues led me to medicine. Since doctors could not figure out why my bones were weak at the age of 20, causing my lower back fracture, or how to keep them strong, I had to take a diet and lifestyle approach to figure out what worked for me. This led me to internal martial arts, and subsequently, Chinese medicine, known for assessing the body without diagnostic testing.

After graduating as an Herbalist and Acupuncturist, and practicing internal martial arts for many years, I needed to integrate nutrition and testing to my existing knowledge, which led me to Functional medicine.

After years of training, I now felt comfortable using food, herbs, supplements, movement, hands-on therapies, stress management and behavior change tools to help myself and others. I also came to realize that such personalized medicine was not accessible to people without amazing health insurance, or lots of money. By combining Chinese medicine with functional medicine, I could reduce the need for so many functional tests up front, personalize the diet and botanical treatments further than what functional medicine practitioners were doing, while saving people money! Let me help you!

1. People who want to understand what changes they need to make, but also need assistance effectively implementing those changes. As a holistic practitioner and health coach, I can help you one-on-one, or you may join one of my Functional Health Groups.

2. The average person just beginning to improve their health and would like personalized guidance and optimization.

3. People who are experiencing a lot of digestive symptoms and need help improving their gut health.

4. People experiencing a lot of fatigue and/or brain fog and need help getting their energy back.

5. People who cannot afford functional testing but still want a personalized treatment plan including diet, supplements, herbs, and lifestyle.

6. People who do not have work-life balance and need assistance maintaining their health through more demanding times.

7. People who are too weak to start pharmaceutical or botanical treatment recommended to kill a pathogen, or people weakened by treatment and working to rebuild their health.

8. Pediatrics = infants – teenagers

PERSONALIZED DIET

Using an anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense diet as the base (Base Diet), I determine if further dietary considerations are necessary:

• Saturated vs monounsaturated fats based on cholesterol health
• Exclusion of foods due to autoimmunity
• Reduction of fermentable carbohydrates due to GI symptoms
• Easier to assimilate foods due to weakness
• Focus on glucose or fatty acids as the body’s fuel
• Reduction of histamine

Once we have determined the ideal diet plan, we need to adjust your caloric intake and macronutrient ratios:

• Ideal percentage from carbohydrates, and the amount that should come from starchy carbs
• Ideal percentage as fats, and the source of the fats – saturated versus monounsaturated
• Ideal percentage as protein, and the blend of lean versus fattier cuts of meat

PERSONALIZED BOTANICAL FORMULATION 

Herbs can be used to help improve the function of the body based on the individual’s needs, such as:

• Reduce inflammation
• Strengthen the digestion
• Move the bowels
• Help the liver detox
• Strengthen the adrenals

PERSONALIZED SUPPLEMENTAL PLAN 

Supplements can provide necessary nutrients or cofactors to enable function:

• Multivitamin when micronutrient intake is poor
• B-vitamins to help with processes such as detoxification
• Digestive enzymes to assist in food assimilation
• Betaine HCl to optimize poor stomach acidity
• Adaptogens to help balance the hormonal system

PERSONALIZED MOVEMENT PLAN 

Considering the source of fuel determined above (glucose vs fatty acids), and the quantity from these sources, I advise my patients on what movement program is best:

• Aerobic vs anaerobic
• Mild, moderate or high-intensity
• How to eat before and after movement

There are many good practitioners out there, so how do you choose?

You want someone who will:

1. Evaluate your history to understand where you are today.
2. Make specific diet and lifestyle recommendations that will generally improve your health, and target your symptoms.
3. Review your labs and provide physiologic insight (comprehensive serum, urine organic acids, DUTCH, comprehensive stool).
4. Provide botanical therapies.
5. Be effective regardless of your budget.
6. Work with your doctor.

Practitioners with these skills will fall under one of these licensure types:

1. Chinese medical practitioner
2. Naturopathic practitioner
3. Internal medicine Chiropractor
4. Integrative practitioner
5. Any practitioner or doctor trained in Functional Medicine

If I were to choose, I would pick a skilled Chinese Medical Practitioner also trained in Functional Medicine. Why?

1. Chinese medicine has been around for thousands of years – it has had a lot of time to fine-tune the system.
2. Chinese medical practitioners emphasize the physical exam – pulse and tongue, assessing your structure, tissues, temperature, moisture content, etc.
3. Chinese medical practitioners provide relief in every session – acupuncture, acupressure, cupping, gua sha, far-infrared therapy, botanical formulation.
4. Chinese medical practitioners write botanical formulas very specific to their patient’s physiology.
5. Incorporating Functional medicine’s diagnostic tools provides more detailed insight into current physiologic functioning.
6. Functional medicine personalizes a patient’s diet plan, adjusts their macronutrient ratios, and recommends targeted supplements.

Being successful at gaining or maintaining health is not just about the type of practitioner you work with, but also about your desire and discipline to implement the recommended treatments. People that understand the why, are more likely to follow through, versus doing it because they were told to, without understanding it. I help patients succeed by educating them about their body, and why the recommended treatment. My goal is to not just help you regain your health, but to teach you how to understand your body, and how to treat it, making you your own health advocate. Acquiring information and understanding isn’t always the solution. Sometimes the issue is changing behavior. As a Functional Health Coach, I incorporate tools to assist patients when behavior change is the barrier.