I recently put a call out to my Instagram community for requests on topics for future episodes. One topic that came up was how to make wellness more inclusive.

It’s a vast topic given the variety of things that fall into the wellness space. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I do believe that we can find empowerment when we become leaders in our own health care.

In this solo episode, I share why I take an integrative approach to wellness, marrying science with holistic practices, and how I found empowerment through education, taking a leadership role in my health.

Over the past five years that I’ve been a health coach, I’ve spent a lot of time educating others on what exactly is a health coach, what is our scope of work, making sure that I’m always staying within that lane and practice within my scope.

Joining me in this episode is Reed Davis, a Holistic Health Practitioner and Certified Nutritional Therapist, is an expert in functional lab testing and holistic lifestyle medicine. He’s also the founder of FDN, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition®.

Reed served as the Health Director and Case Manager at a Wellness Center in So. California for over 10 years and now teaches the FDN Course with over 2,500 trainees and graduates in 50 countries. He is known as one of the most successful and experienced clinicians in the world today, having provided functional lab assessments to over 10,000 clients. He’s also a Clinical Advisor for BioHealth Laboratories and lives in the US, teaching the FDN Certification Course and helping his graduates build robust private practices.

You’ll hear us discuss:

• What is a health coach, what’s the scope of work for a health coach and what isn’t

• How unlicensed practitioners like health coaches can use lab testing to identify opportunities for healing

• What is lifestyle medicine 

• How health coaches are the bridge between patients and physicians

And a whole lot more. If you’ve ever been curious about what exactly a health coach does and how one can help you, this is the episode for you!

In this episode, I’m joined by Monica Cox, a Fertility Health Coach, host of the Podcast Finding Fertility, author of “Baby & Me” and creator of #gratedvegbrekkie. Her infertility journey was a 9-year evolution, which led her to overhaul her diet and lifestyle choices.

You’ll hear Monica share:

• What her life was like before deciding to start a family

• What her 9-year journey looked like - the struggles, the wins and the role autoimmunity played in it

• How she’s now a mum to two little boys and she now helps other women create the family of their dreams

In the final installment of this mini-series, we explore Tiers 3 and 4 of the Functional Nutrition Framework.

If your health concerns aren’t resolved in Tiers 1 and 2, there’s likely some complicated dysfunction happening. You’ll hear how in Tier 3, we look to add an Integrative or Functional Medicine doctor to the partnership if one isn’t already involved. I share:

• How I found the functional and integrative doctors 

• How I guide my clients to find one to work with them no matter where in the world they’re located

• What to consider when selecting one

After resolving your health problems in Tiers 1, 2 or 3, we move to Tier 4 and maintaining your new normal. I share my new normal is and how I maintain it seasonally.

Continuing the mini-series on the Functional Nutrition Framework, after building a solid foundation for health in Tier 1 (Episode 093), this week, we explore what to do if your health concerns aren’t fully resolved after working in Tier 1.

In Tier 2, the next step of the framework, we move into deeper work through assessing and tracking to determine the best course of action to create a solid nutritional infrastructure that’s built on the foundation you established in Tier 1.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Personal stories on how I to do more advanced work in Tier 2 as I navigated through IBS, SIBO and the Low FODMAPS diet

• How to systematically assess and track

• Where lab tests and supplements fit into the framework

Would you run before you can walk? Just like you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet, you also can’t medicate or even supplement your way out of one either.

If you want to address the root causes of your health complaints and find a resolution for them, then the environment that your symptoms and illness manifested itself in needs to be addressed.

A sensible, flexible and bio-individual way to do this is through the Functional Nutrition framework. This is the framework that I’ve structured my health coaching services around and take all of my clients through.

So in this new mini-series of The Live FAB Life Podcast, I’m walking you through each step of this framework. In this first episode you’ll hear: 

• Why its critical to establish a solid foundation by removing obstacles to health and healing by taking care of the non-negotiables

• What the non-negotiables are

• How to start addressing the

In this episode, I’m joined by Brian Richards, the founder and Lead Product Developer of SaunaSpace, makers of Near Infrared ( NIr) Saunas.

You’ll hear Brian share his personal health struggles with toxic-related acne, adrenal fatigue, brain fog, insomnia and the role that saunas played in restoring his health. He shares how his journey inspired him to create SaunaSpace to help others discover how saunas are a simple the pathway to general health and natural healing.

We also discuss:

• What are Near Infrared saunas and why they are more effective than other saunas

• How saunas resculpt, rebuild and restore the body against the toxic exposures of the modern world

• Why they are so effective for detoxification

• Sunlight and the effects that the different kinds of rays have on the body, EMFs and even the sympathetic vs parasympathetic nervous systems

In this very important episode, I'm joined by Dr. Jolene Brighten. Dr. Brighten is a Functional Naturopathic Medical Doctor and nutritional biochemist with a focus in women’s endocrine health. She is recognized as a leading expert in Post-Birth Control Syndrome and the long-term side effects associated with hormonal contraceptives.

Dr. Brighten is the author of Beyond the Pill, a 30-day plan to support women on birth control, help them transition off, and eliminate symptoms of post-birth control syndrome.

We discuss:

• Why the pill is problematic

• What is Post-Birth Control syndrome & what to do about it

• How it’s connected to mental health, heart disease, cancer, as well as acne, poor gut health, Leaky Gut Syndrome, adrenal and thyroid dysfunction, SIBO, overtraining and more

Dr Melissa is a doctor of chiropractor, a functional medicine practitioner, a clinical nutritionist and is certified in Kundalini yoga. I’m a former patient of hers, and she was THE person who introduced me to functional medicine, holistic health and natural ways of healing.

She opened my eyes to many blind spots in my health - from the different kinds of stressors, how food can be medicine and how environmental toxins impact all of us