I have over 10 years of experience as a nurse and nurse practitioner, but my true joy is helping people to understand their own body and be their own healthcare provider. There is a major metabolic health crisis going on in America right now; nearly half of American children already have a preventable chronic disease. You can and should take your family’s health into your own hands. I help educate people about how REAL food truly is medicine and that there are so many lifestyle options that actually prevent, treat, and cure chronic disease. I believe our bodies are extraordinary and we were designed perfectly by God.

I am a wife and a mom, I love adventure and real food. I have over 10 years of experience as a nurse and nurse practitioner, but my true joy is helping people to understand their own body and be their own healthcare provider.

There is a major health crisis going on in America right now; nearly half of American children already have a preventable chronic disease. You can and should take your family’s health into your own hands. I help educate people about how REAL food truly is medicine and that there are so many lifestyle options that actually prevent, treat, and cure chronic diseases. I believe our bodies are extraordinary and we were designed perfectly by God. I want to help you learn to optimize the health of you and your family with simple steps towards true nourishment. I love helping families thrive and be happy and healthy when they prioritize Health for the Home.

Even with my extensive healthcare experience, training, and knowledge in how to assess and evaluate scientific research and clinical studies, I still had a difficult time finding the information I needed to heal myself and my family. I struggled with gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety, and generalized joint pain for years before I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis at age 24. The factors that lead to autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s are usually multifactorial - it’s not just one thing. There are genetic factors, but many lifestyle and environmental factors play an even bigger role.

When I was 19 years old in nursing school; I starting experiencing intense anxiety and gastrointestinal symptoms. I had recently moved to college and was no longer in close proximity to my main social support - my mom, sister, and boyfriend. I was stressed about school and grades, I stayed up too late studying, consumed college cafeteria food, and stopped exercising. I saw my primary care provider who didn’t ask me any questions about social support, dietary habits, sleep routine, or exercise and jumped straight to starting me on an SSRI for anxiety. I developed awful side effects from this medication (some of which have never disappeared to this day!), so I only took it for only a few months, but my symptoms continued. With my mom’s help we started implementing a few dietary changes, which helped control my gastrointestinal symptoms. I also found a workout routine that helped my anxiety immensely. I started to learn about my own body and how much diet and exercise contribute to mental and physical health. At 22, I married my high school sweetheart and joined a Crossfit gym which led me to a paleo diet. I felt great on a (mostly) paleo diet, but I took exercising to the extreme which was overly stressful on my body.

At 24, I developed elbow tendonitis that wouldn’t go away with typical therapies, which caused me to reach out to a new primary care provider who specialized in sports med and hormones and he suspected that my thyroid might be contributing to my symptoms! I now know that elbow tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome are both strongly correlated to Hashimoto’s disease, but I had no knowledge about that at the time. Despite the fact that I went through nursing school and worked in healthcare for years, root cause of disease was rarely discussed. Most of my schooling was focused on how to manage diseases with pharmaceuticals or surgery. He checked my TSH and FT4 which demonstrated hypothyroidism - my TSH was around 9 and my FT4 was just slightly out of range. He recommended synthetic hormone replacement with Levothyroxine. As a nurse, I knew this was the standard of care, but it was weird how immediately, I thought, I wonder if there is another way.. What is the cause? Can I fix it? I didn’t want to take a medication for the rest of my life, I was so young. I reached out to my cousins wife who was a naturopath to find a different view and she immediately responded that I should have antibodies checked as I likely had an autoimmune disease - Hashimoto’s. I asked my doctor if he could order the antibodies and he agreed. She was right - my thyroglobulin antibodies were elevated at nearly 900! I did a deep dive into natural healing and worked with a naturopath to lower my antibodies and correct my TSH and FT4. I cut out gluten permanently and took a variety of dietary supplements to fix nutrient imbalances. I actually followed a very strict diet (Autoimmune Paleo or AIP) for months, cutting out all foods that can contribute to inflammation in the body which made most of my symptoms worse before they got better. With the knowledge I have now, I think most people heal best with more focus on managing stress, increasing nutrient dense foods, and less strict dietary rules; nonetheless, through diet and lifestyle changes, I avoided taking any medication and my elbow tendonitis and gastrointestinal symptoms fully resolved! I spent years with normal thyroid labs, my symptoms were well managed without the need for thyroid replacement therapy or any other pharmaceutical drugs.

I went back to school and completed my Master’s degree (with improved stress management strategies) and received my Family Nurse Practitioner certification. I dove extensively into natural and functional medicine for years and worked to fine tune my own health before trying to start a family. At age 29, my husband and I welcomed our first daughter and I suffered briefly with some postpartum anxiety, but symptoms resolved with diet and supplements and getting back to exercise. Then, after my son was born in early 2023, I suffered from postpartum thyroiditis and my antibodies and TSH both skyrocketed, this time my TSH was 250 and my antibodies were nearly 3,000. The significant hormone changes, as well as other stressors and sleep disturbances during the postpartum period can be a trigger for Hashimoto’s (or relapse in my case). I decided to start Levothyroxine this time because I was postpartum and breastfeeding, but also started to slowly work to treat naturally again. My son also developed symptoms of asthma and some food intolerances and eczema at the time. This time, it was not only myself who needed healing, but my whole family. We adopted more of an ancestral diet, cooked all our meals from home with emphasis on the most nutrient dense foods like pastured eggs, 100% grass fed beef, bone broth, seafood, liver, fermented foods, and joined a local herd share for raw milk. We also realized it is not just about food. We focused on healing our environment and minimizing toxins, spending more time outdoors, moving our bodies and exercising together, and working to not overbook ourselves which leads to stress and burnout. We’ve been able to heal my sons eczema and he tolerates all foods now! I’m still working to wean my Levothyroxine, but I have lowered my antibodies significantly and I feel great and I know that is what matters. Throughout the process of healing for myself and my family it became very clear that each person has to be their own health advocate, no one else is going to become an expert in your health. The modern healthcare system is so overrun with an extremely sick population that the people who want to go against the grain and optimize their health just get left behind. We have phenomenal emergency and acute care in this country, but prevention and treatment of chronic disease is poorly lacking. Modern medicine often manages the symptoms of chronic diseases with various pharmaceutical drugs without a real investigation into the root cause of disease in order for true healing. If you are ready to be your own health expert and prioritize Health for the Home follow my blog and Instagram.

I am a wife and a mom, I love adventure and real food.

I want to help you learn to optimize the health of you and your family with simple steps towards true nourishment. I love helping families thrive and be happy and healthy when they prioritize Health for the Home.