B-NOURISHED
Admittedly, the week after Thanksgiving might not be the best week to reconceptualize our relationship to food. Or, on second thought, maybe it is the perfect time … The Thanksgiving meal has become, to many Americans, the ultimate comfort meal that includes many foods supposed to make us feel “good”- mashed potatoes, gravy, apple pie. In addition, there is an important social aspect of the meal traditionally shared with family and friends with a focus on gratitude and community. These aspects of the Thanksgiving tradition speak to the way in which we use food not just for sustenance, but for emotional and social purposes as well.
Understanding how we are nourished “on and off the plate” is at the core of the NOURISH program at Balance. Functional medicine physician, Dr. Renata Burigatto, and integrative nutrition coach, Susan Brown, designed this personalized wellness program to be everything they felt was lacking in the healthcare industry and in the diet and fitness industry. Their goal is to help clients effect change on a cellular level to reduce inflammation, to shed weight, to improve mood and energy and to prevent disease. Using clients' comprehensive blood work, they create individual treatment plans rooted in the 4 pillars of health: stress management, sleep, nutrition and movement.
A guiding principle of the program is that food should not only be thought of as sustenance but also should provide a deeper sense of nourishment and healing. Food should be considered and utilized as a type of medicine for our bodies and nutrition should be not about deprivation but about giving our body the nutrients it craves. When used this way, food becomes a powerful tool to help us achieve optimal health.
Health is defined by the World Health Organization as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” 1 Interesting side note, this definition has not been amended since 1948! Functional and integrative medicine address this comprehensive definition of health and incorporate a holistic approach with a focus on 2, 3:
Prioritizing the patient and physician relationship
Considering all dimensions of health - including body, mind, spirit, community and environment.
Boosting the body’s natural healing processes, using natural and less invasive interventions
Encouraging health promotion and illness prevention (instead of disease management)
Providing individualized care based on specific biological, physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of an individual
Developing healthy habits and encouraging self-care as part of one’s wellness routine
Functional medicine is holistic not only because it focuses on the whole person and multidimensional aspects of well-being, but also because it emphasizes the interconnectedness of the different biological systems within the human body. While conventional medicine might treat each symptom as a separate entity, functional medicine will search for a single underlying root cause of a range of symptoms. Identifying core systemic imbalances, rather than treating specific individual
symptoms, can help inform a more comprehensive wellness plan incorporating different methodologies to achieve a person’s optimal health. Furthermore, functional medicine focuses on nutrition and lifestyle choices - which are two major contributors to the current chronic disease epidemic in our country.5
Susan Brown’s path to becoming an integrative nutrition coach was inspired by her own dissatisfaction with her conventional medical care and enduring symptoms.
“After the birth of my son 7 years ago, I developed intermittent IBS symptoms and seasonal eczema flare ups. Seeing my GP and my dermatologist over the years, I was prescribed medicine that only ever masked the symptoms. I knew there was something more. With my belief that food is medicine, I continued to clean up my diet and to remove what I deemed to be triggers – including gluten and dairy - and noticed some positive changes. But, then suddenly, last spring, ironically when I was in the middle of completing my Integrative Nutrition certification, new symptoms emerged: bloating – I felt 3 months pregnant by 6 pm; fatigue at night - I could go to sleep at 8, new skin inflammation - I developed chronic dry patches at the base of my scalp; and brain fog - I was mixing up some of my words and couldn’t remember where I had parked leaving Balance each day. I knew about the powerful connection between our gut health and our mental health – after all, around 80% of our serotonin is made in our gut - so I knew this new symptom was not early dementia but clearly linked to an unhappy gut.
Renata and I put our heads together and looked at my bloodwork and found some micronutrient deficiencies that were a red flag – I wasn’t absorbing all the nutrients in my diet. We determined that my seemingly unrelated symptoms pointed to a dysbiosis in my gut – a likely product of stress and possibly some adhesions after my second C-section 7 years ago. After some specific testing, Renata determined that I had SIBO - small intestine bacterial overgrowth - a condition where bacteria migrates from the colon and takes up residence in the small intestine - causing inflammation, leaky gut, and an elevated immune response – which was manifesting itself in my eczema. This overgrowth of bacteria was also responsible for taking up some of my B vitamins before my body had the chance to absorb them which led to my pre-bed naps! The biggest kick in the pants was that this strain of bacteria also thrive on certain short chain carbohydrates that get fermented by the bacteria for fuel. So, ironically some of the very healthy foods I had been increasing in my diet in the last year - that would have made most people feel better - were actually making my symptoms worse - think cauliflower, Kombucha, beans and apples! After two weeks on Renata’s treatment plan, and a specialized nutrition plan we came up with - it was as if a fog had been lifted. The patches on my scalp disappeared, my energy and brain power returned and my IBS symptoms had subsided. I truly believe that given half a chance – the body can heal itself by itself! I am living proof of the power of functional medicine and integrative nutrition and Dr. Renata and I feel so fortunate that we get to share this passion with clients on a daily basis.”
Emphasizing change on four identified pillars of health - stress, movement, nutrition and sleep - Nourish challenges participants to strive to become their healthiest selves. The program includes 24 strength training sessions, 10 nutrition workshops and cooking demos, a focus on meditation and recovery, weekly Facebook topics and challenges and the accountability and support to transform your body not just on the outside, but on the inside.
Dr. Renata Burigatto: Working as a physician for the last 15 years, Renata felt frustrated in a system that only allowed her to see a patient for 15 minutes once a year. This is not enough time for a patient to feel heard or to set up a realistic plan of action to tackle health concerns; 15 minutes is only enough time for quick band-aids. This dissatisfaction led her to pursue an advanced degree in Functional Medicine in order to better help patients understand the interconnected web of their symptoms and to help them design a personalized plan for their wellness.
Susan Brown: Working as a personal trainer and nutrition coach the last 12 years in the U.K. and U.S., Susan has always believed “you can’t out-train a bad diet.” Having helped many Balance clients achieve body transformations in the 6-week Goals Program, Susan was inspired to dig even deeper into the science behind different nutritional theories. Completing her Health Coaching degree with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, she loves helping clients find the right nutritional approach and is passionate about sharing her belief that “food is medicine.”
References:
Preamble to the Constitution of WHO as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19 June - 22 July 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of WHO, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948.
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-6014/The-5-Principles-of-Functional-Medicine.html
https://dukeintegrativemedicine.org/about/what-is-integrative-medicine/
A Balance Resource Article by Alyson Mandel, PhD & Susan Brown
December 4, 2019