How did I get here?

At no point in your life will you ever feel more alone, more abandoned, or more orphaned that at the time when you lose your parents. In a matter of 18 months, I lost the people nearest and dearest to my heart. At this point in one’s life, it’s natural that you would step back and take a long hard look at your life, your passions, and your dreams for your future. It’s natural that at this time, you would look for something that fills that empty space where loved ones had resided all those years. Being a heart-centered person, I looked high and low for a career that would fulfill me. I worked in medicine for many years, and it did not take long to see that the system we call “healthcare” is broken. Because time with your physicians is fiercely limited, Enormous amounts of time is spent on illness and little to no time is spent on health and wellness. But if more time could be spent on wellness, there would be less time required to spend on sickness. It’s a cyclical pattern that needs to end. Several years ago, I been seeking out a career in which I could use my heart-centered gifts to advocate for patients In this “sick-care” system in which we all must live. But it wasn’t until the passing of my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, and then my own mother that I became adamant about finding a career in which I could help people live longer, healthier lives. Sadly, a career like this was not going to be found in Western medicine. It wasn’t until a medication side-effect suddenly took the life of my mother that I became determined to be the change that world needed. I did hours and hours of internet research and found the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and realized that the career I had searched for for so long was that of a Health and Wellness Coach. Sick-care has over-burdened Western medicine and Health Coaches are the future of the HEALTHcare system. It is my heart-centered desire and passion to see people live long, happy, healthy lives with the people they love. No person should lose a loved one because of a sick-care system that can’t possibly treat the population of chronically ill people. Becoming a Wellness Coach is the greatest thing I could have ever done for me and my family; but my education has been bittersweet as I have learned things about wellness that may have prolonged the lives of those that I held nearest and dearest to my heart. But I am determined to see to it that nobody else loses a loved one to an untimely sudden death because of our sick-care system. You see “Medicine is not health care. Medicine is sick-care. Integrated nutrition is healthcare. Let’s get this straight.” Don’t let the people you love be a causality of the sick-care system. Fight for them. My loved ones are gone, but I WILL fight for yours.
Frankie Davis, Penny Davis, Norma Aklestad…. May you always rest in peace.

From Healthcare to “Self-Care”

Frustration. Rushed. Ignored. Intimidated. These are just a few of the answers I get when talking to clients about their relationships with their physicians. It’s not that doctors are unwilling to connect with their patients on a deeper level, it’s that time is money and there isn’t enough time. By the time your physician pays for the costs of running their practice, there’s not much left over. The Healthcare system is clogged just like a drain in your kitchen sink. The treatment cannot get to where it’s needed because there’s so much gunk in the way. It’s time to change that.

So what can we as patients do to help this system run a little bit better? Well first of all, we can start taking better care of ourselves. We have a responsibility to properly care for this one body we have. There are no second chances. Preventable illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease are just a drop In the bucket of reversible disease. So what do we do to prevent or reverse these conditions? Take responsibility for our personal health and the health of those we love. Real nutrition and lifestyle changes are the cure for preventable disease. It’s not complicated. It’s rather simple really. Eat REAL food. Food that comes through your car window is not real food. It does nothing to give your body the nourishment that it requires. Something that you can just pop in the microwave and eat is not real food. Reduce your sugar consumption. The average American consumes more that 150 pounds of sugar each year. Plan meals ahead of time including vegetables and leafy greens. PRACTICE cooking. Try some healthy recipes.

Get off the couch. Take the stairs. Move your body. With every passing second, you’re getting closer to the end of your life. Remove negative people from your circle and foster healthy relationships that feed your soul. Find work that you love or find a way to love the work that you do. Slow down. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Enjoy doing nothing. Even five minutes of quiet time for reflection can change the course of your entire day. Many “medical” conditions are actually “lifestyle” conditions. We need to help our physicians help their patients by removing our gunk so they can better focus on treating the patients that are truly ill. Our health and wellness is not the responsibility of our physicians. That responsibility falls on each of us individually. Your physicians and your future self will thank you for it.