I wasnโt always interested in hormones, fertility, or menstrual cycles. To be honest, I didnโt pay any attention to what was happening in my own body until it forced me to.
Starting at age 16, I began having horribly painful periods every two weeks accompanied by the classic PMS nightmare โ horrific cramps, nausea, weight gain, bloating, skin eruptions, the whole kit and caboodle.
I saw acupuncturists, conventional doctors and healers who taught me to talk to my ovariesโฆ I tried bioidentical hormones, thyroid medication, acupuncture, reiki, you name it โ I gave it a shot.
Nothing seemed to help.
In my second year of college, suddenly my cycle stopped coming completely. I was 19, eating too little, exercising too much, staying out into the wee hours of the morning much too often, anxiety-ridden, stressed, and overall pretty much a mess. For years, my cycle remained elusive, never staying around for long and disappearing for months and years at a time.
Thank goodness for my parents. They knew taking the advice of my doctor to get on birth control pills to restore my cycle would only mask the crazy hormonal chaos I was experiencing and never really fix anything.
By then I was 22 and at a total loss for what to do to fix my body. My step-father, a medical doctor of 25 years with a passion and drive for holistic medicine, recommended I see a naturopathic doctor. The naturopath was the first person to ask me about my diet, my lifestyle, and my emotional health. She was truly interested in figuring out why my body was breaking down at the young age of 22.
Her treatment plan included eating one whole egg plus two tablespoons of cod liver oil every day. Wait, what?! I thought we were supposed to avoid fat, and especially cholesterol?!
Much to my complete surprise, within four weeks I had my first menstrual cycle in years. This experience fueled my fascination with food and its ability to heal.
I began reading EVERYTHING I could get my hands on about food and nutrition, discovering how the food we eat determines everything from how good our skin looks to how well our brain works, and everything in betweenโฆ I was blown away at the power of food.
Around this time I left my corporate journalism job in Chicago and enrolled at the Nutrition Therapy Institute in Colorado to complete the graduate program in nutrition therapy. A program teaching a science-based holistic approach to nutrition rooted in the conviction that food, as Nature intended, is a form of medicine that can heal, protect, nurture and support health.
When it came to choose the topic for my thesis paper, I was immediately drawn to the subject of how to increase fertility naturally. Even though I wasnโt trying to get pregnant at the time, I realized if I was, I would definitely be struggling. I knew that one day I really wanted a family and to have the experience of becoming a mother.
I spent the next year studying, personally applying the research, and understanding everything there was to know about how to restore hormonal flow and improve fertility. I studied with various well-respected practitioners. I took courses on how to use functional medicine to restore hormonal health, how to optimize thyroid function, how to improve male fertility health, and numerous other topics relating to fertility and hormones.
Now my energy is high, my moods are stable, my food cravings gone, my skin is clear, and my sexual energy and weight are easy to maintain. I cycle with the moon, aligning with the flow of the earth. My body was prepared for conscious conception, I had a healthy, full-term pregnancy, and I welcomed my beautiful baby boy into the world in August 2020.
Iโve worked with hundreds of women, teaching them how to alleviate common modern hormone imbalances (such as PMS, PCOS, endometriosis, and amenorrhea). They learn how to optimize their brain health, gut health, and hormone health so they feel amazing in their body.
They discover how to eat and live in a way that profoundly nourishes their body and their hormones. Ultimately they understand how to live in hormonal flow each and every day.
Now I would love to help you.
Curious about your fertility health? Take this simple quiz to find out what factors may be harming your fertility, and learn what you can do about it!
