What If I Told You That Food Could Change Your Life?

"Hold up. Wait just a minute. Did you really just say that food could change my life? I need to know how!"

If you think back to the beginning of time, food has been the keystone to life. It was and still is used to fuel the body, the mind, and the spirit. It was used as medicine. It was used in the basic everyday life of every single living being on this planet. I know you're thinking "obviously, Staci...I know this." What you may not realize is that what we once ate was pure and natural and clean. It wasn't sprayed with chemicals, it wasn't genetically modified, it wasn't mass produced, and it never contained preservatives, artificial flavors, or artificial colors. It was literally food, 100%.

While we can still find this food, the convenience of fast food, boxed food, and frozen food is super appealing. What we are finding is that all these issues are popping up and becoming all too common. Things like gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, eczema, allergies, obesity, hypothyroidism, ADHD, autism, etc. are becoming the norm. Could it be food related? While it varies case by case, yes of course diet can play a HUGE part in this! While I could list off the statistics, I'd rather leave that up to the people who are nutritional experts.

This is why I am SO EXCITED to bring to your attention, Rebecca Duerr of Mindful Family Wellness, LLC! What's even better is that she is RIGHT HERE in Mooresville, NC <3

Rebecca has a Master's of Science in Nutrition and Integrative Health, from the Maryland University of Integrative Health (MS). She is a Board Certified Nutrition Specialist. Her North Carolina Dietetics/Nutrition License (LDN) are pending. She is also a CAPPA certified labor doula (CLD) and APPA certified Placenta Arts Specialist.

A few months ago, I actually had a series of nutrition sessions with Rebecca and left them feeling empowered and excited about changing my diet. She was able to chat with me about why and how I could change my diet AND still enjoy food! Awesome, right? Let me tell you...I have never felt so good. I have so much energy now and don't even have the desire to drink my coffee. If you know me, you know I have a gaggle of kids and I am a birth doula. I used to drink A LOT of coffee. A LOT.

If you have ANY questions about nutrition or want to discuss your diet, I HIGHLY recommend Rebecca. She is worth it, I promise.

Here are some things she offers in her personalized nutrition plans:

Goal setting
Recommendations that support your needs and goals
Healing foods and recipes
Coaching and counseling
Meal planning
Dietary supplements as needed
Education about self-care
Mindfulness practices

Her Nutritional Counseling includes:

Better understanding of healthy shopping, cooking and eating
Increased ease with meal planning and food preparation
An increased sense of well-being and vitality
Enhanced resilience of mind and body
Feeling empowered to care for your own health, using food as medicine
Mindfulness about hunger and satiety
Becoming better able to sustain a healthy lifestyle

I asked Rebecca some questions recently in order to get to know her and her business a bit better:

Please tell us a little about yourself, your hobbies, interests, etc.

I have a calm demeanor that keeps a steady and strong energy in the room (I am told).

I was an art teacher and my first masters degree is in k-12 art education. I have an art/craft room in my house, very artistic. I love to draw, paint, sculpt, and make jewelry. I also love photography....I have a very natural lifestyle. I care for the environment and use as little plastic as possible, etc.... Fun fact: My dad is a well known prof of oceanography and I went on an oceanography expedition with him from Australia to Sri Lanka when I was 19 years old - 1 month at sea in the middle of the Indian ocean. He is an artist too. I once asked him how his artistic side and science side came together. He said "you need to be artistic and creative to imagine what might be possible. You then look at the science to either prove it or disprove it." I really liked that. It made me see that you don't have to be left or right brain dominant. They both come together and work side by side. I feel like I use that because I have to be empathetic and tuned into my clients while remembering the medical and biological aspect.... as well as be able to have a business mind.

Please describe your business to us.

Mindful Family Wellness provides Integrative and Functional Nutrition Counseling to women and families. I identify root causes of illness and disease and then support my clients with nutritional therapies. Focusing on where the client is in the healing journey, as well as their readiness for change in lifestyle and nutrition is key to their healing and being able to thrive.

What is a philosophy you run your business by?

I give each of my clients the time and attention I would want if the tables were turned. With that being said, it is hard work making changes to lifestyle and diet without making it feel like a temporary fix or a diet. I expect focus and dedication from each of my clients.

Where are you located?

Mooresville, NC

How could children/parents/families benefit from your business?

In today's worlds, there are so many different possible influences of disease that impact our health and wellness. Many practitioners focus on reducing signs and symptoms, as well as pain, through medications. They don't focus on the actual cause of the issue. Because the medications are covering symptoms, rather than healing the problem, over time the medication doses need to increase and, therefore, side effects increase. This can lead to the addition of other medications. In contrast, sometimes people can feel like there is something wrong, they feel unhealthy, their energy is low, they aren't sleeping well, etc. They reach out to their doctor or other health practitioner only to be told there isn't anything wrong and that what they are feeling is in their head. They feel unheard, ignored, and they can even start doubting themselves and what their body is trying to tell them. I am able to help children, parents and families by listening to them, studying their lifestyle and current diet, reading their signs and symptoms. From there, I am able to help them make changes that will help them feel better and actually heal so they can thrive and live a happy, energetic, and healthy life.