What Is Functional Nutrition?
Functional nutrition is an approach to health that focuses on determining root causes of disease. A functional nutritionist not only looks at your diet but also evaluates your stress levels, environmental exposures, signs and symptoms, and prior diagnoses to determine causes. At Living Well Nutrition, The Center for Epigenetic Counseling, we go beyond functional nutrition by studying your epigenetics to include the most foundational level of health that science provides. The certified nutrition coach helps you create a strategic plan to meet your unique needs and optimize your health.
How Are We Different from a Dietitian?
There are many illnesses that can be helped through proper nutrition and dietetic guidance. If you suffer from heart disease or diabetes, for example, your doctor may refer you to a registered dietitian. The dietitian will then prescribe a diet based on your specific diagnosis. At Living Well Nutrition, The Center for Epigenetic Counseling, we go beyond a diagnosis-based diet. Our specialty is referred to as Functional Nutrition, which is a part of the field of Functional Medicine. We look at how food and nutrients affect your body on a cellular level. That means you won’t just be handed a standardized diet and sent home!
Rather than managing your disease condition (your symptoms), we aim to provide true healthcare. Looking for a cause involves layering various bits of information. First, your diagnosis and lab work are taken into consideration. Second, your health history, lifestyle and family history are considered. Third, the impact of your current diet, nutrient status and food sensitivities are considered. Finally, your epigenetics are tested and researched.
Epigenetics + Nutrition: Using Science to Manage and Heal Chronic Health Conditions
What are epigenetics? Epigenetics are the expression of your genes that you got from your parents. This is different from just looking at the genes (or the DNA) that you inherited — the things that make our eyes blue or green or brown, for example.
The expression of your genes is a direct reflection of your nutrient status (what you eat) and your environment (this includes exposure to chemicals, stresses and many other factors). Our genes are very responsive to these inputs.
Like an artist will apply layers of paint to achieve the final painting, we layer the information to get a complete picture of your health.
This approach to your health is not for everyone. Some people want to be given a diet and a medication regimen to follow to the letter. That is their choice.
Others are not willing to live with a diagnosis. They know that their diagnosis doesn’t have to be permanent. They believe they can control and regain complete health. These people realize that they will have to make some changes in their lives, that what they have been doing is not working. They are willing to do the work to regain their health. They are ready to change their diet and lifestyle. And, they are ready to invest in finding the root causes of their problems. Those are the people who come to Living Well Nutrition, The Center for Epigenetic Counseling.
At the Center, we partner with you to optimize your health. Does this mean you’ll have more energy and fewer symptoms? Yes! Does is mean you’ll lose all the diagnoses you may have? Maybe. While we don’t promise miracle cures for every patient, we have seen and experienced firsthand how amazing the human body is. We know that when we support the body’s natural healing, then wonderful things do happen.
Additional Resources:
Interested in learning more about Functional Nutrition and Medicine and how this new approach works? Check out these resources:
Introduction to Functional Medicine, by David S. Jones, M.D., and Sheila Quinn
The Disease Delusion, by Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D. (called “the godfather of functional medicine” by Dr. Mehmet Oz)
Living Well Nutrition
The Center for Epigenetic Counseling
Phone: 970-685-8531
Email: Kristy@LivingWellNutrition.com
Address: 1435 29th Street, Suite 100 | Loveland, CO 80538
