Growing up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I spent my weekends in the beautiful countryside, soaking up plenty of natural light, breathing in fresh country air, swimming in frigid well waters, and sharing wonderful moments with friends and family. I would come home with T-shirts stained blue from climbing old blackberry trees. But even though I got plenty of exercise and had a lot of fun, I experienced constant asthma attacks, upper respiratory infections, and ear infections. I frequently visited the hospital and the nebulizer soon became my best friend.

After moving to the USA in my teens, I continued to eat wholesome homemade meals, but even that changed once I attended college. Long hours of studying and having limited funds forced me to eat large quantities of unhealthy food. In my early 20s, I developed intense gut pain that my gastroenterologist diagnosed as gastritis. My thoughts were foggy and disjointed, and my mental health worsened with each passing day. I visited the doctor frequently, but no one could avail my condition.

After college, I married the love of my life. However, while he was in medical school, my condition worsened. Again, every test I took returned normal results, but I was not convinced at my apparent good health. Eight years later after the birth of my first baby, I nursed her for 20 months and was told that my debilitating fatigue was due to lack of sleep, nursing, post-partum depression, and anxiety. I felt better in the summer months but was absolutely drowning in despair during the cold season. When our second child was born, there were still no changes in my symptoms.

One afternoon, in the middle of our kitchen, I began to experience tingling in my hands and feet. The slightest fear would send my brain into panic. Worst all all, at the age of five, my daughter began to develop large motor tics, violent mood swings, and terrible fatigue. I rejected the normal results and simple diagnoses she and I were given and began my search for the underlying causes of our health problems.

I researched the blogosphere and listened to dozens of podcasts – many of which mentioned functional remedies – which led me to drop certain foods from our diet and focus on the quality of our proteins and produce. My symptoms —and my daughter’s — slowly began to disappear. After 6 months, I started to feel the veil around my thoughts lift. My brain fog had dissipated!

Inspired by this success, I applied immediately to a Masters’ program in functional medicine. During the program, I learned all about the functioning of the body and evidence-based remedies. I soon convinced my husband, who had been my guinea pig for all these diet and lifestyle changes and an emergency physician, to attend a certification program for functional medicine as well.

Today, I hold a Bachelor of science degree in Biology/Pre-Med and a Master of Science in human nutrition and functional medicine. I am the first licensed nutritionist in the state of North Carolina and I sit on the North Carolina Board of Dietetics and Nutrition (NCBDN). Additionally, I am an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner (IFMCP). Currently, I’m in my third year of botanical medicine training with a focus on Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic, Middle Eastern, native American, and European herbal medicines through the David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies.

Stumbling onto functional medicine gave me back my life. I have been thankful every single day of this wonderful journey. I now enjoy my days, working in my vegetable garden, lifting weights, spending time with my family, and helping confront their own health issues. I am glad to be able to use my education and passion to not only improve one life, but many.