ABOUT THE PRACTICE

 

Well Fed Health is a pediatric nutritional therapy practice focusing on the gut-brain connection for complex children with higher medical or behavioral needs.

 
 

I specialize in providing a comprehensive nutritional therapy approach for children who face complex gut, skin, brain, and behavioral health challenges in their everyday life. In recognizing the interconnectedness of these symptoms, you and I are able to narrow in on the root causes to a disrupted health foundation for your child so that they can begin to heal from the inside out.

Your goal is to help your child thrive – my goal is to support your family in that endeavor by optimizing their nutrition and supporting overall development for a healthy life beyond the childhood years by setting them up with a strong foundation.

We do so by optimizing gut health and nutrition to improve skin conditions, support brain function, and enhance positive behaviors in your children.

I believe that a child’s health starts with the foundation on which they are growing and building from. This includes their nutrition and gut health, and how that affects other areas especially brain health, behavior, skin, and immune function. It’s all too common to see children with allergies, asthma, and eczema, and these often go hand in hand with brain health and behavior. The interconnectedness of the brain and body is what can set a child up for a positive experience inside their body in relation to the world around them.

Our children are inundated with toxins and environmental triggers that their bodies are now having to adapt to, not to mention the massive amounts of stimuli that their brains and nervous systems are not equipped to handle. By supporting the child’s nutritional needs, genetic predispositions, and detoxification abilities, we can really move the meter on a child’s ability to thrive in this world.

If you’re seeking expert guidance and support for your child, please explore the resources on my website and book a one-on-one consultation or package with me to get started.

 
 

OUR CORE VALUES

  • It is critical that both the child and the family take an active role in their nutrition and well-being. My goal is to educate and equip you as the parent with the knowledge and tools necessary to make informed decisions about not only their nutrition, but lifestyle as a whole that is best suited to support the child’s needs and ability to thrive. Nutrition is not solely about food but also encompasses physical, emotional, and social aspects of a child's life. It is my goal to help you begin peeling back these layers to uncover what will best serve your child so that you can connect with them in a very nourished, regulated, and fulfilled way.

  • You know exactly what your child needs. In fact, YOU are exactly what your child needs. I lean heavily into a parent’s intuition when the parent is responding in earnest to their child’s communication. I understand that symptoms are communication from the body, even if a child is unable to articulate their needs or is non-verbal. There is so much wisdom a parent can glean from the child by tapping into intuition again. That takes intention - a conscious curiosity about your child, seeing them for who they are and what they need. It is the backbone of my practice, with an understanding that a child’s microbiome and inner workings of their cells, tissues, and organs often communicate for them when the child cannot.

  • Having a child with high needs can sometimes bring about unique challenges. It is my hope to approach you and your child with empathy, understanding, and sensitivity. I am not a practitioner who scolds or is disappointed, but rather, I deeply understand that sometimes things don’t go according to plan. It is my hope to come alongside you to strategize how your child might best respond to changes within their nutrition and lifestyle. I strive to build strong connections with the families and children I work with to create a supportive environment where you and your little feel heard, valued, and cared for.

  • Effective care for children with high needs requires a collaborative approach. You’ll often hear me discuss or inquire about other modalities you may consider trialing for your child, or appropriate therapies that may be needed after evaluation with the appropriate therapist or practitioner. By taking a multi-faceted approach, we can create a unified and coordinated plan that addresses all aspects of your child's well-being, ensuring seamless and comprehensive care so you can be confident that no piece is missing from their healing plan.

  • Our privilege and responsibility as their parents is to feed our children well and nurture them well in all aspects of life. As a parent, I know the heaviness that can sometimes come with having a child with complex considerations. But, I know the delight that comes in stepping into your role as their caregiver, instead of always outsourcing. That takes radical responsibility, and yes, a little extra support, especially at first. It is my goal to come alongside you as your practitioner, but ultimately to help you launch into a grounded and rooted peace as the parent of a high needs child.

 

MEET JULIA

 

I’m Julia, and I am a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner specializing in pediatrics for infants and children facing complex medical or behavioral challenges. But first and foremost, I’m a mom, just like you.

My journey into nutritional therapy and pediatrics was deeply rooted in personal experience. Aside from years of practice and countless hours of continuing education training, I can speak to the beauty and challenge of raising healthy high-needs children because I’m currently living it out.

I’m a mom to two young children, both of whom have had complex medical challenges. When my son was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition, I found myself tirelessly searching for true root cause support. However, conventional approaches fell short, leaving me feeling frustrated and disheartened. I don’t want him to be part of the statistics, so I decided that I would take my son’s healing into my own hands.

This is what really drove us to taking an honest look at our lifestyle, our food, our air, and more in order to support his health and help him thrive. But on top of this, we had no idea how to navigate the other childhood ailments, much less heal from them. From digestive problems, to food allergies, to ear infections, to skin breakouts, to sleep struggles, to temperament issues… we’ve gone through it all with my young son, and have had to navigaate medical complications with my daughter as well.

It was during this challenging time that I recognized a significant gap in holistic health in regards to children’s wellness and healing. As I felt God pulling me in this direction, I began to immerse myself into the world of pediatric nutrition and holistic health, eager to provide the comprehensive support that so many families are seeking – that my family was seeking, too.

My ultimate aim is to fill the void I once experienced by offering a compassionate, holistic approach to pediatric health and nutrition to set our children up for a lifetime of wellness from the inside out. It’s been a joy to bless the families I’ve been able to work with so far to help them lean into their intuition with their own children and what they know to be true in nurturing their little ones’ health.

My heart is to help families reverse and heal from generational chronic disease and the “new childhood epidemics”.

 
 
 

CREDENTIALS

  • Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner™ (certified by the Nutritional Therapy Association, Inc ®)

  • Restorative Wellness Practitioner RWP-3 (certified by Restorative Wellness Solutions)

  • Instructor for Restorative Wellness Solutions (Advanced trainings in Gastrointestinal, Hormones, and Blood Chemistry)

  • Bachelor of Science in Nutrition & Dietetics from Louisiana State University

  • Pediatric FNTP with the Always Growing Nutrition Team

  • Epidemic Answers Health Coach (In Training)

In order to strive for excellence in the pediatric nutrition space and to ensure that my practice provides the highest level of care and guidance, I am continuously updating my knowledge and expertise in ongoing continuing education through masterclasses, readings, podcasts, and courses that may not be reflected here. I will often share recommended readings on my Resources page!

Read more about what I do and don’t do as an FNTP here. I am not a licensed or registered nutritionist, dietitian, or other healthcare provider.