Knowledge You Can Trust
For more than 15 years, Amy has helped her clients recover from chronic health issues. Amy approaches each condition as a complex interplay between exposure to environmental and metabolic toxins, immune system dysfunction, and impairments of energy production and cellular function in the body. Recovery occurs when all these factors are addressed.
The Support You Need
Amy works with both children and adults experiencing a wide range of chronic and complex conditions.
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ADHD/Anxiety/Depression
ADHD, anxiety, and depression are mental health conditions linked to imbalances in neurotransmitters, chemical messengers in the brain, specifically dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Research indicates that gut health influences neurotransmitter production and the body’s stress response through a two-way communication pathway known as the gut-brain axis. Brain inflammation and neurotransmitter function can be affected by underlying food sensitivities and gut dysbiosis, impacting mood, attention, and impulse control.
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Allergies/MCAS/Sensitivities
Allergies, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), and sensitivities are the result of a dysregulated immune system involving an overactive Th2 immune pathway. Th2 cells play a role in humoral immunity, which involves the production of antibodies. Th2 dominance causes the body to overreact to harmless substances, such as food, dust, mold, pet dander, pollen, and parasitic infections, leading to inflammatory symptoms, such as sneezing, congestion, itchy eyes, hives, swelling, digestive issues, or even life-threatening anaphylaxis.
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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behavior, and communication. Research indicates a complex interplay between autism, the immune system, impaired detoxification pathways, and gut-brain communication, with studies suggesting that methylation deficiency, oxidative stress, chronic inflammation from viral, bacterial, parasitic, and fungal infections, environmental toxins, and mitochondrial dysfunction may be involved in the onset and progression of autism.
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Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases are the result of a dysregulated immune system, involving an overactive Th1 immune pathway. Th1 cells play a role in cell-mediated immunity, which involves direct interactions between immune cells to fight infections caused by intracellular pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, and certain parasites. Th1 dominance can lead to autoimmunity, a condition where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own healthy cells and tissues, causing chronic inflammation and damage.
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Endocrine/Hormone
Hormones are chemical messengers that travel throughout the bloodstream to regulate many of the essential processes for health, such as growth and development, digestion and metabolism, mood and behavior, and reproduction. The glands that produce these hormones make up the endocrine system, which consists of the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, thymus, and adrenal glands as well as the pancreas, ovaries, and testes. Endocrine disorders can stem from chronic viral, bacterial, and fungal infections, and environmental toxins.
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Epilepsy/FND/PNES
Epilepsy, functional neurological disorder (FND), and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) are seizure disorders which research indicates can be the result of immune system dysfunction. Undiagnosed and untreated chronic viral, bacterial, parasitic, or fungal infections of the central nervous system that cross the blood-brain barrier can cause neuroendocrine and neuroinflammatory changes and autoimmunity, making the brain more susceptible to seizure activity.
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Gastrointestinal (GI) Issues
The GI tract, the pathway that food takes through the digestive system, is responsible for digesting food, absorbing nutrients, and eliminating waste products. It also plays a crucial role in immunity, housing 70–80% of the body’s immune cells, by defending the body against harmful pathogens. Disruptions in the gut’s delicate microbiome can lead to GI issues, such as constipation, diarrhea, and nausea, and GI disorders such as Celiac, Crohn’s, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and ulcerative colitis.
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Lyme & Tick-Borne Co-Infections
Lyme disease, caused by borrelia burgdorferi, and other co-infections, such as babesiosis, bartonellosis, alpha-gal syndrome, anaplasmosis, rickettsiosis, and mycoplasmosis are considered tick-borne infections. These infections are often called “the Great Imitators” because symptoms, which can affect the neurological, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular systems, closely resemble those of other conditions, such as autoimmunity, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psychiatric disorders.
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PANS/PANDAS
Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS) are two conditions that involve the sudden onset or worsening of obsessive-compulsive disorder or restrictive eating, along with other neuropsychiatric symptoms. PANS and PANDAS are triggered by bacterial and viral infections such as streptococcus, mycoplasmosis, and Lyme disease as well as environmental issues such as mold, cleaning products, and chemicals.