“I want to be the practitioner for my clients that I should have been able to find when I became sick.”
About Sofia
When my own health issues developed I went from doctor to doctor, both allopathic and naturopathic, spending thousands but with little improvement - an unfortunate and common scenario that many people with health challenges face.
Like so many that have taken the path to become a wellness clinician, I had to become my own healer because the ones I went to weren’t able to get to the bottom of what was going on, or help in any appreciable way.
I had a background in nutrition as it was, I’m a graduate of the Natural Gourmet Culinary School in NYC and worked as a personal chef for over 10 years preparing nutrient-dense and delicious foods for clients.
But despite a very healthy diet and lifestyle, my health was deteriorating and I knew I needed something or someone that could actually sort out what in the heck was actually going on.
My hair was falling out in alarming amounts, I had gained 25 lbs in a couple of months, I was an insomniac and had become deeply depressed with debilitating fatigue and brain fog.
That shift happened very quickly, practically overnight. Yet, according to my labs, I was doing alright.
I went two years without a diagnosis or any marked improvement - I guess I’m one of the lucky ones, on average it takes people 5 years to get a diagnosis for their autoimmune disease.
I’d later understand there was never one thing that went wrong, I had a "perfect" storm of issues that had reached critical mass and that's when my house of cards came crashing down.
I had developed Hashimoto's, autoimmune hypothyroid, had a toxic metal burden, my liver was a mess, I had terrible digestive issues including parasites, mold toxicity, reactivated Epstein Barr and genetic issues that were basically kicking my ass.
It would take years to untangle but eventually, I found the trailhead to my recovery...
The first thing that actually helped me is something called Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA)
This test revealed highly relevant information about my individual biochemistry - nutrient imbalances, toxicities, weaknesses of various organs and systems, information that blood work often fails to pick up, all through the understanding of mineral values, their relationships, and the presence of heavy metals.
Implementing the recommendations from the knowledgeable practitioner I worked with was my first step toward getting better. I was amazed that I had been spending piles of money on doctors who are regarded as the authority on health care, but it was a nutritionist looking at my minerals who figured out what I needed and provided solutions to help me start feeling better.
As a result, I wanted to understand and practice this modality for myself, and to help others. I became Certified in Nutritional Balancing under Dr. Rick Malter and this is now a test I use with most clients. When you take your car to the mechanic they connect it to a diagnostic computer to understand your car's issues; similarly I liken HTMA as my way to evaluate a client's overall health status and needs.
HTMA and its companion therapy Nutritional Balancing were helping me navigate my own health needs and I started running the test on friends and family, but I wanted more. I jumped headfirst into the world of Functional Health which strives to find root cause(s) instead of just managing symptoms.
This model works to optimize health and prevent disease by identifying the root causes of unwellness and then using lifestyle modifications and targeted nutrition instead of medications.
Now as a Certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P) I interpret a variety of clinical information, tease out important details with my health detective skills and can put together a comprehensive understanding of someone's health story and provide customized lifestyle and nutrition-based healing protocols.
I do ongoing education and have taken a number of courses with the Metabolic Healing Institute including Mastering Functional Lab Test Analysis and New Approaches to Complex Illness, with Great Plains Labs on Mold/Mycotoxins, Mitochondrial Health and much more. I participate in various Functional Medicine webinars, forums and other platforms on a regular basis to stay abreast of the latest in clinical approaches and therapies.
