My Story

My teenager years were challenged with fluctuating body weight, poor body image, and some disordered eating. I know this now, but didn’t then. I was led to a deep interest and abundant reading in food and nutrition.

Early in my career, I resolved weight challenges by gaining independence of my life and health. I eliminated chronic dieting, created a healthier lifestyle of connections, and work. I implemented a clean whole foods balanced approach to eating and engaged in year-round exercise that I loved.

As healthy and vitally active as I was, I developed chronic fatigue following the first decade of my career while also going through some stressful events.  After months of conventional testing, none of the conventional testing my physicians had completed supported a diagnosis. I started working with a fourth generation Chinese medicine physician who helped me with a GI condition he diagnosed. We treated with diet and unique mix of medicinals herbs that I would get at each appointment .  I would cook the  herbs into a tea each evening. This medicinal approach started my healing process. At the same time, Functional Medicine (FM) and Nutrition were emerging.  I pursued these services based on my desire for further information on root cause and healing. I learned of  “Functional Medicine”, which embraces lifestyle medicine and prioritizes nutrition, from colleagues in the early 2000’s. 

“Danny” Retired Saratoga Race Course Winner

I met with functional physicians at an Integrative Health Center at Harvard Medical School. I was diagnosed with digestive imbalance’s, with the potential root-cause of mercury toxicity from dental amalgam’s. In addition to their care, the medical staff and dietitian invited me to attend their medical intern meetings. This initiated my professional exposure and interest into Integrative Functional Medicine and nutrition. As a result, I started training in 2002 with Dr. Jeff Bland and the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) faculty. I was among the first fifty dietitians worldwide to train with IFM.  Since the mercury had spread systemically throughout my body, I searched for a physician with experience in heavy metal removal.  I learned that most humans commonly have high levels of at least one heavy metal, and that the accurate testing of heavy metals is not available in my home state of New York, nor is it offered in any conventional testing in any state. I was treated under pioneer physician Dr Mark Hyman, and biological dentists. After a series of tests, Mark diagnosed me with more then twenty conditions that were nutritionally related and caused my the mercury toxicity.  I removed mercury from my teeth through dentistry and my body through chelation.  I had to remove mercury from the body systemically in the “stored” areas with additional nutrient and sauna therapy. I started incorporating mind- body lifestyle practices from professional training with The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, and detox support which led to restoring the many nutrient deficiencies related to my symptoms and diagnoses. In more simple terms, I worked on decreasing toxins, inflammation and stress, while repleting the nutritional deficiencies.  These are the main areas providers like myself work with when supporting clients on a personalized journey to restore and heal.