Watching other family members struggle with more serious issues like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Lyme Disease and Osteoporosis induced from medication use and NOT get the help they needed from traditional medicine during this time further illustrated to me that a different kind of approach towards true healing was needed!

On the flip side, growing up, I had also watched an aunt and uncle become true physical fitness specimens after committing to serious bodybuilding, physique training, and a very health-conscious diet for years.

I also had parents that were environmentally conscious, fought to protect and enjoy unspoiled nature abundant with forests, and exposed me to plant and Native American medicines and lakes in my native Minnesota.

All of these experiences had given me personal, real-time insight just into how much good food and healthy living mattered, how modern medicine obviously didn’t have all the answers, and how you could transform your body and health by not following the status quo!

Ultimately, this lead me on a quest to help myself and others to have a more harmonic, healthy and beautiful life.

I studied both music and medicine in university, eventually obtaining graduate degrees in both, and the reasons that drew me to study both fields were quite similar, in that regard!

For me, going gluten and dairy free for nearly three years made a huge difference in calming down these low-grade, uncomfortable, inflammation-driven symptoms.
In naturopathic school, I saw how going gluten free for other classmates had made even bigger differences for them, such as completely clearing up chronic, debilitating eczema, putting Crohn’s into remission and making a huge difference with their cancer care and recovery.

Now, many years later, I can enjoy some gluten and dairy foods without any problems since I gave my body time to heal and rebalance. That makes eating at social gatherings and other events less of a challenge and I’m thankful for having gone through that process and having a ‘happier’ body now.

It was a real-life experiment that illustrated both how dynamic and mutable your health is when some relatively simple changes are made!

That said, I still limit gluten quite a lot as it doesn’t serve my health well anyhow and for me, feeling well enables me to do more and live my most fulfilled, vibrant life.

That also happens to be my goal for each and every client I work with!