I'm A Health Coach: How This Training Shifted My Outlook On Food

This perpetual search for what brings me a sense of inner joy and light has been my guiding star (I like to call it a firefly) throughout the various health-related ebbs and flows I've encountered since childhood. From reproductive and digestive dysfunction to a rather-familiar relationship with anxiety, I've aimed to approach my health through the lens of self-compassion, genuine wonder, and radical transformation. 

A dynamic pillar to functional medicine, functional nutrition embraces food as a tool to support balance and proper physical function, plus help the body stave off future disease.

By looking at my own diet with a more focused, functional approach, I was able to identify what foods were triggering my IBS symptoms and digestive discomfort overall. (In my case, dairy and gluten.) Following an elimination protocol, I lived without these foods for four weeks while filling my diet with anti-inflammatory herbs, spices, healthy fats, low-fructose fruits, and plant-based protein.

To help support my gut, I also turn to a low-FODMAP diet. I made a conscious effort to limit foods that would cause me bloating (think garlic, onion, and legumes) to favor gut-promoting ones like ghee or low-starch vegetables.

By embracing how each person is biochemically unique, functional nutrition focuses on how lifestyle factors, health history, and even genes create an individual's health state. As the epitome of "one size doesn't (ever) fit all," this tailored approach is critically important to thoroughly meet a person's unique needs.

Most importantly, functional nutrition has given me a thorough, well-established understanding that food is at the heart of this active, dynamic ecosystem I call life. And embracing this sustainable, therapeutic approach has encouraged me to prioritize both my physical and mental health.