ABOUT

Hi, I’m Ferra.

I envision a world where everyone feels empowered to choose nutrient dense foods when they walk in a grocery store or farmer’s market and have the confidence to turn those foods into simple nutritious meals at home. 

I’M HERE TO HELP YOU ALONG YOUR HEALTH JOURNEY!

I’m a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner trained by the Nutritional Therapy Association.  I help women dealing with chronic digestive issues like acid reflux, constipation, bloating, diarrhea and those who are concerned about their cardiovascular health address these concerns through nutrition so they can live life to the fullest.  We do this together by naturally balancing your body systems through a properly prepared whole foods diet, lifestyle changes and supplements, if necessary.

If you are a busy professional or busy mom and you’ve had your gallbladder removed, have reflux, chronic constipation or are being told you need to watch your cholesterol, let’s chat about ways I can support you!

YOU ARE UNIQUE, THEREFORE YOUR HEALTH PLAN SHOULD BE TOO!

I will do a deep dive evaluation and help you get to the root cause of your concerns.  WHY do you have chronic constipation.  WHY is your cholesterol high.  A lot of times doctors are treating symptoms instead of digging deeper and addressing the root cause.  We will work together to design a personalized dietary and lifestyle protocol that addresses your health concerns and moves you toward your health goals.

MY DIGESTIVE ISSUES STORY

I wanted to share my own personal experience with chronic constipation in hopes that it may help you.  Ever since I was a small child, I’ve had gut related issues.  I was always told that I have the “Hoover” stomach.  When I was just a small child, I had to drink the barium and have an upper GI x-ray done.  Nothing was found and the doctor diagnosed me a “nervous stomach”.  Since both of my parents have gut issues and my maternal grandmother had Crohn’s disease and my paternal grandfather had part of his intestines removed, I always thought it was just in my genes and there was nothing I could do about it.  I was wrong, by the way!

 I was constantly on antibiotics growing up with ear infections, tonsilitis and strep throat.  I ate whatever I wanted (fast food, pizza, chips, cookies, ice cream, etc…), drank soda (never pure water) and never put two and two together that was I eating and drinking actually affected my gut.  When I got older, my doctor diagnosed me with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).  In college and even into my 30’s and 40’s I would sometimes go out with my friends for dinner and have to leave early because I would be in so much pain and need to be near a bathroom because it was inevitable that diarrhea was coming.  Besides those excruciating bouts of diarrhea, I had chronic constipation.  Only going to the bathroom 1-2 times per week.  For years this went on!

In late 2018 I started seeing a functional medicine doctor.  I just wasn’t getting any answers from my general practitioner on why I wasn’t feeling well and gaining weight and being told all my tests were “normal” wasn’t an acceptable solution to me.  The new functional approach changed my life because we got to the root cause!  It was only then that we did some deep dives into my bloodwork and discovered several things.  I was insulin resistant, my inflammation markers were extremely high and my cortisol was severely elevated too!  No wonder I wasn’t feeling good and not sleeping well.  I made a few changes in 2019 but my lab numbers just weren’t changing enough and I was continuing to gain weight.  It wasn’t until January 1, 2020 that I decided to take my life back.  I changed what I was eating!  I did an elimination diet in January 2020 and lost 8 lbs.  I went to Costa Rica on a yoga retreat in February 2020 and discovered how much I loved yoga again.  And then the pandemic happened.  I was stuck at home by myself in those scary times.  My saving grace was to go outside in nature and walk every day.  I joined an online workout group and was able to work out and do yoga at home.  I was being creative in the kitchen (still eating a whole foods diet with no gluten or dairy) and sharing recipes on my blog.  I found myself again during the pandemic.  I lost 40 lbs and was becoming healthier each and every day.  I did a virtual meeting with my doctor and she could not have been more proud of me!  I was no longer insulin resistant, my cortisol dropped significantly and my inflammation markers were back in the normal range.  After I had eliminated gluten and dairy, I no longer had those IBS symptoms either.  But I still have one problem, chronic constipation.  So, recently I ran myself through my tool that I will use with you and I have resolved my constipation.  I actually texted my mom one day and said I’ve pooped every day for an entire week!  It may not seem like anything to celebrate but at that point, I don’t think that had ever happened in my entire life!

10 FUN FACTS ABOUT ME

  1. I live in the suburbs of Charlotte, NC but I grew up in Oklahoma and lived in Texas before calling NC home
  2. I have a degree in Animal Science from Oklahoma State University. Go Pokes!
  3. I love that I live so close to the mountains that I can go hiking whenever I like
  4. I learned everything I know about cooking from Rachael Ray 30 minute meals
  5. I love fun facts about all the things
  6. I love to travel and experience new cultures. Favorite places include Italy, Nepal, Bali, Costa Rica and Peru.
  7. My favorite movie is Top Gun
  8. My favorite spice is smoked paprika
  9. I’m obsessed with cooking shows especially anything with Ina Garten
  10. I have a goal to visit every state in the US. I only have 9 to go.

Complimentary Discovery Call

This free 20-minute call is the first step. It allows us to discuss your current health challenges and goals and to determine whether functional nutrition is right for you.

To request your Complimentary Health Evaluation, simply reach out to me by clicking the BOOK NOW button below and I will send you a questionnaire to better understand your current situation, which we will review together during our call.

BOOK NOW

“While weight loss is important, what’s more important is the quality of food you put in your body – food is information that quickly changes your metabolism and genes.”

– Dr Mark Hyman