Meet Diana
Functional Medicine Consultant
AFMC Certified
Here is why I am so passionate about helping people achieve optimal health.
Suffering from FLC
It all started in 2012 when I suffered from FLC (feel like crap syndrome). I was sleep deprived, cloudy headed, in pain, overweight and was missing the feeling of joy in my life. While other mums seemed to manage life with fun and ease, I barely knew how to make it through the day. I was functioning in survival mode. I had dismissed painkillers because I was breastfeeding my daughter and decided to take my health into my own hands.
Early in my search for solutions that would keep my daughter safe (I can tell you, if it had just been me, I would have taken the pain killers without second thought at that time) I came across a video from Dr Mark Hyman, an internationally recognised functional medicine doctor, and I immediately knew I was onto something …. what he was sharing was different …
The pain was a gift
While my GP had offered me pain killers to not feel the pain, Dr Hyman was talking about identifying the root cause of the dis-ease and working on correcting that rather than numbing the pain, which was only the symptom at the end of a chain.
At this point I realised that the pain, and everything else that came along for the ride, was actually a gift that was asking to be unpacked and explored. And so that’s what I did, I started listening to my body’s cries for help and began researching possible causes and natural remedies. I applied what I found, initially primarily focusing on my diet. I gave my body food that was clean and rich in nutrients (no more fast and processed food). It was simple food, not very adventurous to begin with because I was lacking the energy to be creative. But the clean, simple eating paid off and allowed me to take the next step.
The success in more energy and less pain made me hungry for more knowledge and a better understanding of how the body works and so I continued my self-study by reading and listening to the top doctors in functional medicine. The learning was great but the questions about what was right for me and my body seemed to be getting more rather than less. Did I need to work on my thyroid, my adrenals or maybe on mercury toxicity from a mouth full of amalgam fillings? And what about the gut?
Putting out the inflammatory fire naturally
With all the questions I had, I decided to focus on the remaining inflammation and pain. Pain killers were still a no-go for me, at this point it was about protecting my own health too and not just that of my daughter. I had discovered that most pain killers fall into the category of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and that they can, over time, damage your gut, yikes! Now I was double thankful for the fact that breastfeeding my daughter had stopped me from taking them.
Instead I found that omega 3 fatty acids and curcumin had potent anti-inflammatory properties and that these natural remedies are working in support of the body rather than suppressing a symptom at the cost of potential damage elsewhere. Powerful info! And very effective for me!
I continued to delve deeper and deeper into this internal world. Inspired by reading countless success stories and getting better myself with feeling more energy, much less pain, losing weight and sleeping better, I started helping other people. However, things were not as straight forward as I had hoped.
The devil in the detail
I was so passionate about everything I had learned and I was convinced about the amazing self-healing powers of the body when you give it what it needs. So why wasn’t it working with everybody?
I was able to help some people get great results but others kept struggling despite good motivation and effort. What was working effectively for some obviously wasn’t working so well for others. I realised that my passion and keen self-study had their limitations, no matter how much I had helped myself. What I needed was a reliable, reproducible system that would allow me to assess each individual’s situation to understand much better what the unique needs were for the person in front of me.
Here is an example: I wanted to not only know THAT bone broth, which is very healing for many, may not be a good idea for some people. I wanted to understand WHY that is and I wanted to know HOW to figure out in what cases bone broth may actually contribute to making things worse (and I’m not making this up, I did have a client where bone broth was part of the issue).
In-depth education making the difference
I knew it was time to go professional or to give up. Since giving up is not in my character, I decided to get serious, recognised training under my belt.
I investigated different functional medicine education programs and chose for The School of Applied Functional Medicine where I received 2.5 years of advanced, comprehensive training in functional etiology, physiology, and biochemistry. The training also required me to demonstrate my knowledge on complex real-life cases. It was tough, fascinating and very empowering! I have not stopped expanding my knowledge since.
I learnt the reliable system that I was looking for, that helps me to get a deeper understanding of each unique health seeker’s situation. I analyse the situation based on the symptoms, a person’s health history, medication and supplements they are or have been taking and any existing lab work. I also look at life events and when symptoms started appearing in chronological order. As a result I now see symptoms improve in all my clients, in some cases we see around 60-70% reduction in symptoms in only 2-3 months. This is in people who have been struggling e.g. with joint pain, digestive issues, skin problems, chronic headaches, brain fog or mood issues for many years.
My knowledge and confidence is also what allowed me to build partnerships with a number of doctors who appreciate what I can add to their work by diving deep into the person’s unique situation. I believe that together we can deliver the best care for health seekers with complex health challenges. For health enthusiasts who are interested in prevention and health optimisation, the relevance of a medical work up with a physician will transpire from working together.
I love seeing clients get better, discover things about themselves that they didn’t know about, and most of all helping them to be their best self so they can bring their talents and passions to the people they love and serve.