If you’ve ever felt like your body is working against you, you’re not alone. Maybe it’s the bloating that shows up after every meal, the fatigue that coffee can’t even improve, the constant pain in your stomach, joints or head. I see it all the time, and want you to know there’s often more going on beneath the surface and more you can do about it than you’ve been led to believe.
My name is Krista and I’m a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Herbalist here at the Bodiworks Institute. My passion is helping people make the connection between what they eat, how they think and how they feel, both mentally and physically. Whether you’re dealing with something mild that keeps nagging at you or a chronic condition that’s taken over your days, my goal is to help you find the foods and habits that work for your unique body so you can ease or eliminate your symptoms.
So what exactly does a holistic nutritionist do?
Holistic nutrition focuses on the interconnectedness of the body, mind and spirit and takes a root cause approach, looking beyond your symptoms to understand why they’re showing up in the first place.
The mind and emotions that one experiences can either be a catalyst or hindrance to overcoming an illness or symptom. Holistic nutrition focuses on education and addressing both physical and chemical imbalances through diet, as well as mental and emotional imbalances through stress reduction & lifestyle habits, nervous system support and mindset work.
Let’s take joint pain for example. Here’s how my approach looks different from what you might get in a conventional care setting. Most doctors would prescribe medications which may block chemical pathways to reduce or supress pain which can definitely help your day to day life but that medication often doesn’t actually resolve why the pain started occurring in the first place. Holistic nutritionists use an approach to narrow down the reasons why the body is responding with inflammation, which is often tied diet or lifestyle (unless trauma has occurred). A customized plan is put together for the client to implement to help minimize or manage the pain more effectively.
Something else that sets holistic nutritionists approach apart from other practitioners is how we value the quality of your surroundings and the food on your plate. In today’s world, we’re exposed to more toxins than ever before, and that extra load takes a real toll on how our bodies and various organs function. If we want lasting health, it’s something we can’t overlook.
That’s why I look beyond just what you’re eating and ask where it came from and how was it grown. The health of the soil your food is grown in, the farming practices, how the animals were raised and treated, and how far your food traveled to reach you all play a part in how nourishing it really is. Two foods can look identical in the grocery store and still have very different effects on your body. The same goes for your surroundings: toxic burdens in your environment can play an important role in certain health conditions, so evaluating them is a key part of the picture.
What it’s like to work with a holistic nutritionist
Every holistic nutritionist will have similar principles behind their practice but the way they work with clients or the duration of their programs will be unique to them. At Bodiworks, the first 2 sessions follow a similar outline with the remaining follow ups varying depending on the client and their health goals.
It is not a struggle, it is a caring support for your needs...
The first session is a detailed health history review where we discuss the client’s main symptoms, health history, health goals and food journal review. Between the first and second session, I put together the client’s individualized health plan where nutrition, supplement and lifestyle recommendations are outlined. In your second session, we walk through the plan together, and from there we break it down into smaller, achievable steps that we work through for the rest of our time together. That way, change feels manageable instead of overwhelming.
After your first two sessions, we continue building on what you’ve learned. Each follow-up session includes a check-in on your goals (what worked, what didn’t and why), new holistic nutrition concepts and guidelines, and supplemental handouts and exercises to support you between appointments. Every week, we set clear nutrition, digestion and stress management goals so you’re set up to succeed.
By the end of our time working together you can expect to feel:
- Relief from pain and inflammation so movement and daily life feel easier
- Energized from morning to night, with steady energy instead of the afternoon crash
- Free from heartburn, gas and cramping, so meals are something to enjoy again
- Confident at a weight that feels healthy and sustainable for you
- Worthy and proud of a happy, healthy body
And here’s a bonus: depending on your employer benefits package, your Holistic Nutrition sessions may be covered by insurance!
Next steps…
There’s a shift happening in healthcare, and holistic nutritionists are right at the forefront of it. Instead of masking symptoms, this approach gets curious about what’s actually going on inside your body and why. The goal is to help you ease or improve management of symptoms for a condition you’re living with at its source, rather than relying on a quick fix that may make symptoms worse down the road.
Does that sound like the kind of care you’ve been looking for?
If so, you’re in the right place. I work 1 on 1 with my clients to create customized nutrition programs because no two bodies are the same! Together we will work together on correcting underlying nutritional imbalances and supporting positive lifestyle habits that play a key role in preventing, or worsening, chronic disease. The result is a plan that doesn’t just quiet your symptoms for a while, but helps you feel like yourself again.