Picture of the Doc and Hanshi at the office.
How it all started!
I have always had a passion for nutrition. My nutrition journey began in middle school when my best friend Patricia went “No ‘Poo.”
This was around the time that people were beginning to realize that the ingredients in every day items, especially cosmetics and personal care items, were causing ill health effects. Traditional shampoos contain SLS, or sodium lauryl sulfate, in them – it’s the chemical that makes the shampoo bubbly and foamy. Shampoos are naturally foamy in soft water, but not in hard water, so SLS was added to ensure their foaminess in hard water too as people had come to expect that quality in their shampoo. Unfortunately, SLS strips the oils out of your hair, which can damage your hair and scalp, causing dry, brittle hair and dandruff.
How do you fix that?
By adding dimethicone to your conditioner! Dimethicone basically seals shut the hair and skin to address the stripped oil. But what that means is that your body can no longer excrete toxins out through the skin like it is supposed to, so that’s a problem too. Oh, and the only way you can get dimethicone off is with SLS! And the cycle continues.
So the “No ‘Poo” regimen was to go without shampoo (ha-ha) to clean your hair naturally without stripping the oils. Instead of shampoo, you used baking soda and water which essentially created “soap” when mixed with the oil of your hair. For a “conditioner,” I just used water with lavender essential oil and apple cider vinegar. It was FANTASTIC! My hair had never been so soft, not to mention my dandruff went away and my hair broke less.
This discovery launched me into the realization that things I put ON my body could have a profound effect on my health. So what about what I put IN my body?
Thus my love of nutrition was born!
Unfortunately, I was sucked into vegetarianism when I was in college. My mom’s friend had “cured” her cancer by going raw-food vegan, so I was determined to stay healthy by doing the same thing. I read some books (that have been shown to have incorrect conclusions based on faulty data/research) that inspired me to go vegetarian. I lost weight and felt better, so I thought it was working (I realized a few years later that it was eliminating dairy that helped me so much, not cutting out meat).
However, by the time I reached chiropractic and acupuncture school for post-grad, I started having significant health challenges. I started getting sick really easily. I had my first bout of strep throat. Then I got mono, then I got strep on top of the mono. I was a mess. I was constantly tired, but I didn’t have time to be tired – I was busy doing my doctorate and master’s at the same time!
A few months into school, I was taking my first formal nutrition classes while learning about Chinese Medicine theory. It became abundantly clear that the lack of meat in my diet was really causing me serious issues. I reintroduced meat and BAM! Much better – more energy, lost some weight, and I got sick less frequently. Hooray! I was essentially eating Primal (/Paleo), but those diets were not around at the time.
But improving my diet wasn’t enough.
Once I started working, the stress of running my own business started to cause me to get sick again after a couple of years. I started to get strep 3-5x/year, which meant antibiotics and missed work every time. I caught every little cold brought in by patients or by the students at the Dojo (where I was helping to teach karate). Soon I couldn’t afford to take a vacation because I had missed so many days due to illness and bills wait for no one.
I was eating fairly strict Primal/Paleo at this point and taking several immune boosting supplements, but I was still getting sick constantly. I was also frustrated because I knew the supplements were great, but I was not getting better, so I was concerned that I was not going to be able to really help my patients. I started searching for more information when I found Nutrition Response Testing®.
I needed a more targeted approach!
I attended a one-day seminar on Nutrition Response Testing and I was hooked. I loved the systematic approach that took advantage of my hard-earned knowledge and experience. I started to see Dr. Bob Scott in Hampton, NH, to get started with my own customized nutritional program. It turns out that I was taking great supplements (Standard Process and MediHerb), but I needed different ones and additional digestive support to get to the root cause of my issues. It also helped to have someone to keep me accountable!
I had been experiencing daily nausea (whether I ate or not), constant fatigue, trouble sleeping, impossible weight loss, AND immune challenges. Within the first 2 weeks, the nausea was gone, the fatigue and sleep were 50% better, and I had actually lost 2lbs! I was thrilled. I continued on with my program and within 6 weeks, I felt 95% better AND I had lost 10lbs! I still see Dr. Bob for my regular maintenance, and *knock on wood*, I have not caught a single cold so far this year! (12/9/2020)
Since I started offering Nutrition Response Testing to my patients, I am finally having consistent success with my nutritional protocols. People are feeling better and reaching their health goals, which is why I am in practice in the first place!
Want to try it?
Then call 978-237-5106 to schedule your Nutrition Response Testing consultation to see if you are a good candidate. If you are a good candidate, in my opinion and clinical experience, nothing else will help you as much as this approach can.