It all started when…

Back in 1995, six months before my wedding, I had my first flare-up of what was eventually diagnosed as Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. 

I was totally shocked. 

I thought the numbness was a pinched nerve or something like that, not a disease that could blind me, cripple me, or possibly kill me.  How could that be?  I was only 25 years old…and invincible!

Luckily, my husband was a champ.  He didn't bat an eye, and married me anyway, even though I raised an eyebrow and winked at him on the "in sickness or in health" part of the vows.  I think they even caught it in the video...oops. 

Five years later, after two flare-ups that affected my eyesight, I was advised to begin treatment.  My doctor prescribed daily self-injections of an immune-suppressing drug.  The drugs kept my MS in remission and 14 long years of injections followed…with no end in sight.

Then I had one of those weird twists of fate.

Early in 2015, some random person in a Facebook group pointed me toward a youTube video called “Minding Your Mitochondria” by Dr. Terry Wahls.  I watched it in utter amazement, having NEVER been told by doctors that it was even remotely possible to alter the course of my MS with diet and lifestyle changes.  Believe me, I asked what I could do to fix this, but all they told me was "take this drug and stay out of the heat."  Um, Houston...hello?

Thus began my journey back to health at age 45.  I committed to serious diet changes and started to consume nutrient-dense whole foods, instead of pre-packaged crap, sugar-laden poisons, and (what was for me) gut-demolishing dairy and grains.  Lots of people thought I was crazy, but I figured, why not try it?  It's a whole heck of a lot better than essentially doing nothing.

After three weeks, once I broke my sugar addiction, my energy level skyrocketed (insert choir of angels singing).  I lost 26 lbs. over the next 26 weeks without even trying and guess what I found under there? My girlish figure! Who knew?!?  I was exercising less than normal and, still, the weight dropped.  The joint pain I had been living with…gone.  The brain fog that I didn't even realize I had, went away completely and I finally found my vibrant life.  Shoot, I felt like I was in my twenties again!  Who wouldn't want THAT?!?!

I was amazed!  From there, I continued to improve other lifestyle factors, like sleep, stress, chemical toxins, etc.

What was the best part?  In December of 2015, I stopped taking my MS injections.  An MRI eight months later showed no new lesions, and my eye doctor confirmed healing of the damage on my optic nerves.  I haven't had any flare-ups since. 

After all this, I naturally wanted to shout it from the rooftops, because I wanted everyone to feel as good as I did.  I told people about this "food as medicine" epiphany and continued to learn everything I could on my own.  The ability of our bodies to heal is truly phenomenal. This isn’t just about MS or even limited to autoimmune conditions. My family members resolved eczema, rosacea, migraines, back pain, excess weight, high blood pressure, and other things they didn’t know they could improve by getting their bodies back in balance. It’s empowering.

Eventually, I decided to go back to school to certify as a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and a licensed RESTART® Instructor, opening Houston Nutritional Therapy in 2018. My mission is to show people how much power they can have over their own health outcomes and help them set the stage for the human body to do the healing it’s perfectly designed to do.

Your health is in your own hands.  I can show you how to do it. Let's find your Vibrant Life!