My Journey

My interest in the healthcare profession has always been borne out of a desire to help people feel better. I began my professional career as a retail pharmacist; however, after 6 years of practice, I could no longer ignore the fact that my values and perspectives on wellness were not in alignment with those of the for-profit pharmaceutical industry. It very quickly became clear that I was acting as a purveyor of sickcare rather than healthcare. 

I was distressed by the pop-a-pill, symptom-chasing and symptom-masking mentality of our healthcare system - where very little attention is paid to preventing or addressing the underlying causes of the illnesses that plague our modern lives. The importance of nutrition and lifestyle are all but ignored, and despite the grandiose promises of the pharmaceutical industry, we seem to be getting sicker. 

I decided to hang up my lab coat and focus my energy on becoming an anti-pharmacist - helping people explore the healing potential of a nutrient-dense, whole food diet, movement and stress management practices, and other natural alternatives to prevent and/or eliminate the need for pharmaceutical interventions and to attain real, lasting, vibrant wellness. 

Then, in 2019, I became very ill with severe and mysterious digestive symptoms. I lost 15% of my body weight - bottoming out at 89 pounds - and developed profound anxiety, depression and brain fog so severe that I could barely think straight. My life fell apart. 

For fifteen long and frightening months I searched doggedly for answers from western medical doctors only to be told repeatedly that there was “nothing wrong with me”. But I knew better because I knew my body. I became an advocate for my own health and through the implementation of the GAPS nutritional protocol, I began to address the root cause of my physical and mental health symptoms and to reclaim my health.

Though the road to recovery has been a long one, by healing my gut, rebalancing my microbiome, and detoxifying my body I have experienced firsthand the undeniable connection between gut health and mental health as well as the power of food as medicine. My personal healing journey has inspired my work as a nutritional therapy practitioner and solidified my understanding that with a happy gut comes a healthy mind.