How Did I Get Here?

(AKA Chelsea’s own healing journey through holistic healthcare and functional nutrition)

In the world of functional nutrition or medicine, there is a little joke: to get into this field, you either get smart, or you get sick. It sounds a bit morbid, but let me explain.

For many of us who enter the field of healthcare, we see one path: western, or allopathic, medicine. Though this world excels at certain times, such as emergency situations, it is often not the best for preventative care or true restoration of wellness. A handful of providers are smart enough to realize this and pursue training in functional medicine and holistic modalities. For the rest of us, well, it’s not until our own health takes a hit that we realize there must be another way to restore true health and wellness.

Personally, I fall into the latter category. I was lucky to grow up in a healthy home. We reached for natural remedies before over the counter meds, ate a lot of whole foods, received regular chiropractic care, and stayed very active in sports. Sugar was a very minimal part of my diet until middle school, when I discovered vending machines and sweet treats. When I look back, I can see that this is when my health started to change.

As an elite gymnast on the nationally renowned FM ACRO Team, I put my body through a lot. Small injuries were often pushed through with the help of ibuprofen, tape, and ice. Slowly, the energy and resilience I was used to started to slip. At age 16, a serious back injury only increased the pain reliever use, and ultimately led to a cortisone injection.

This was also when other symptoms became more prevalent. I adopted a gluten free diet, which helped with my unstable digestion, but I still needed naps between school and practice. My skin was constantly broken out and as a teenage girl, acne felt life altering. After trying nearly every topical and medication, I did a round of prescription Accutane.

This is where I should note that throughout this entire time, my mom was the smart one. She frequently encouraged me to look at my nutrition, add in anti-inflammatory habits, and to truly take care of myself… it just took me a few too many years to actually listen to her.

When I started college at the U of M, my “normal” health included back pain, acne, poor digestive health, irregular menstrual cycles, fatigue, and new onset allergies. A gluten-free diet, coffee, naps, birth control pills, and NSAID pain relievers got me through the day, but I was certainly not thriving as a young adult.

I entered adulthood uncertain about my future from a career and health perspective. Intense fatigue, poor sleep, anxiety, hormonal concerns, unstable digestion, body pain and acne had become my baseline. Sometimes I felt a little better, other times I just drank more coffee. So far, I had avoided any serious diagnosis, but it was evident that my health was not headed in the right direction.

A bright spot of my early 20’s was meeting my now husband at my first job post-graduation. He has been on this journey with me for a long time and has shown me how incredible a good support system can be.

At age 24, a leap of faith to transition to a job in a natural healthcare clinic changed everything for me. Through the tools of holistic nutrition, intentional supplementation, and muscle testing (Nutrition Response Testing), my health started to shift, and it felt as if a fog was lifting. The journey back to wellness wasn’t fast, but it was beautiful.

First, a cough that I had experienced for 6 years, after a bout of pneumonia and pleurisy, cleared with specific immune and lymphatic support. My energy and sleep steadily improved. My digestive tract no longer felt like a wild animal, thanks to identifying what foods did, and did not, match my level of health. With improved gut health, acne became a thing of the past. I was even able to regain normal menstrual cycles after many years of hormonal birth control use. Most importantly, my light and joy returned, and I realized that my passions lied in the worlds of functional nutrition and holistic healthcare.

Many years later, I sit here humbled by the journey that I have been on. It was not always easy, and I am certainly not always the “perfect patient.” My own health brought me into this field and showed me what is possible when we lean into nourishing foods, functional nutrition, intentional supplementation, and emotional support tools. Each day, I am honored to serve as a guide for my clients, walking alongside them, and always remembering their ability to be health, well, and vibrant.