As the mom of a son whose eczema began at only a few months old, I was advised to avoid dairy while nursing and prescribed steroid ointment to put on his skin. Eventually, he was diagnosed with food allergies but even when avoiding the foods, his eczema persisted.

 

We were referred to a dermatologist who prescribed a "brand new to the market" $300 cream that was supposed to have miraculous results and was not covered by insurance. It did nothing to improve his eczema. I knew we must be missing something. 

 

Frustrated and wanting to find an answer, I began doing some investigating. I discovered his eczema wasn't only a skin issue but also the result of an unhealthy gut, an overactive immune system, and a high toxic load creating inflammation in his body. As we started addressing these things, his eczema markedly improved.

 

In 2018, I developed painful, inflamed cystic acne around my mouth and chin and suffered from sinus infections every other month for over a year. Doctor's visits resulted in antibiotics and finally, a referral for a CT scan to ensure there were no nasal polyps leading to infections.

 

Dissatisfied and not wanting to do a CT scan, I began searching for an answer and found a face diagram that indicated cystic acne around the chin and mouth is usually from a food-sensitivity. Since corn chips and popcorn were part of my daily diet, I eliminated corn. Within a week, my acne cleared, and the recurrent sinus infections stopped for good.

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What I learned from these situations is that when we focus only on where symptoms show up, masking them with treatments like steroid ointments and antibiotics, we miss out on finding the root causes necessary for true healing to occur. And, most times, it starts by addressing an unhealthy gut. After this discovery, I began reading and listening to all things functional medicine-and I became hooked.

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My desire to help my family is what led me to become certified as a Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist Practitioner (FDN-P). Having a deeper understanding of whole-body function, access to functional labs, and knowledge to address health holistically gives me the sense of empowerment I desire. And, nothing would fill my cup more than to use my skills to help others with their health journeys too.​​

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It's more important to understand the imbalances in your body's basic systems and restore balance, rather than name the disease and match the pill to the ill.-- Mark Hyman, MD, Functional Medicine​​​​​​

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