Hi there, I am Jessica, a mom of 2 boys, a wife of 10 years, an engineer, and a functional nutritionist with a goal to support as many women as possible heal from digestive challenges and thrive through autoimmune diagnoses. This relentless desire to show up, put myself out there as an educator and healer comes from a rough past of my own. I can't remember a time that I didn't have negative thoughts about my body. As a young child and teenager I hated my thighs and my bubble butt. I struggled with eczema and never felt at home in my body. So like the type-A perfectionist that I am I threw myself into studies, fitness, and any other high achieving extra curricular activity to find another way to feel fulfilled. Whatever I set my mind to, I nailed it. I developed a name for myself: go-getter, passionate, bull-dog, hustler, powerhouse. It fed me and pushed me to go harder and longer. Until, everything came crashing down.
The Diagnosis
In 2011 I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition known as Ulcerative Colitis. At the time my GI doctors told me that my nutrition wasn't the problem, stress didn't cause it, it was just my genetics. I won the autoimmune lottery so to speak. I felt broken and the symptoms of an IBD aren't sexy. Newly married, I was not prepared to deal with such an agonizing disease. I got on the omeprazole and Mesamaline, but still continued to have flares and was never sure what foods my body would react to. I felt trapped in my own body and afraid of food. I lost weight. But this is the kind of weight that makes you wish if you could reverse the disease you would be happy at the weight where you thought you looked chubby. The pain, the nasty stools (tmi :)), the embarrassment. It downright sucked. I knew there had to be another way to not just survive the disease but to heal enough to feel like myself again. Although you can't heal completely from an autoimmune condition, you can shove that b*tch into remission. Through Functional Medicine and Nutrition practices, I was able to do just that. I am no longer on medication, I have the tools and techniques to calm a flare and be able to live a life undefined by my disease. The doctors were wrong. Food does matter, stress definitely matters. The body is designed to heal, if you create an environment for healing.
An Invitation
Functional Nutrition did more than help me heal, it saved my sanity and it enabled me to thrive in all my glory. I want to do the same for you. Healing and not merely just managing is possible. But you must look deeper than the signs and symptoms. You must consider the roots to your suffering.
I invite you to follow-on the blog to be educated about what is going on in the body that causes malfunction, real tips to healing that doesn't require a complete overhaul of your life, natural remedies that I have personally tried, along with information on supplements, myths debunked, and my journey because I will always be doing the work alongside you.