My Story

My name is Kara Walker and I am a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP) certified through the Nutritional Therapy Association and I am here to provide 1 on 1 health and wellness coaching.   You may be wondering how I made the decision to become an NTP and why I wanted to seek out alternatives to traditional diet and lifestyle recommendations.

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My path with an auto-immune condition began when I was only 5 years old.   I was diagnosed with asthma that was so severe I couldn't sleep in a room with a dog or cat without my throat swelling shut.  I was sick a lot so antibiotics and steroids became the norm.  As time went by, my asthma got better, but acne, chronic sinus infections, and painful periods took over.  Unfortunately, I had very few answers other than medications that offered symptom relief, but no real solution.  Little did I know at the time being put on birth control would lead down a path to hormone imbalances or the chronic use of antibiotics would wreck my gut setting me up for developing more autoimmune diseases.   

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Everything hit a breaking point for me when I developed post pregnancy Hashimoto's thyroiditis after having my first child.  I was told by the endocrinologist at the time that the thyroiditis would run its course and everything would go back to normal, well it did, but I suffered the same condition after my other 2 children.  After my third child the thyroiditis didn't resolve on its own.  I remember vividly my doctor calling me to tell me the diagnosis of Hashimotos as my TPO antibodies were 513!   She had been urging me to stop eating gluten and I never took her seriously before thinking, how can diet have that much impact?  This time I listened, and I stopped eating gluten cold turkey, I had also begun researching diet and lifestyle changes that would support my body and reduce my autoimmune symptoms.  Over the course of 9 months I noticed so many amazing things happen to my body (not to mention my TPO antibodies dropped to 53!). 

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That became my Aha moment that if I was going to get better, I had to take charge of my own health, get educated, and learn how to advocate for myself.  I made a lot of changes on my own but was not where I wanted to be with my health, so I worked with a functional medicine practitioner thinking that would fix everything.  I did get better, but things fell apart again after having COVID twice in 2022.  While the COVID symptoms were mild to moderate, it was devastating to my immune system.  I felt like I had to start all over again.

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Despite all the different doctors I saw and all the information I had in my pocket, I felt I was still missing something.  It was through the NTA I learned about foundations that were being completely missed or overlooked as part of the healing process.  I never had anyone actually talk to me about the mechanics of eating meals and how that can impact digestion.  No one really talked to me about the importance of digestion supporting so many other systems in the body.  I was never supported with a diet that addressed the digestion issues or some of the genetic snips I have that impair methylation of B Vitamins as well as some of my detoxification pathways.  In other words, I was simply given the same tools as many other patients with very little tailoring to my specific needs. ​

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I realized many other people are in the same boat as me and need that one-on-one support tailored to their individual needs.  That is what drew me to the Nutritional Therapy Association where I earned my certification so I could help not only myself, but family, friends, neighbors, community members and anyone else that is seeking to better their health.  I want you to feel empowered and have the tools to advocate for yourself.  I want to help people get back to listening to what their body is trying to tell them and make lifestyle changes that align with that.  My goal is to meet you where you are at with your current health and lifestyle factors, establish goals with your input, and offer recommendations based on your individual situation that will help you to reach those goals.  If you are interested in health coaching with the one on one, bio-individual support I can offer you, reach out to me to schedule a discovery call.  From there I can get you the necessary documents, schedule an appointment and join you on your path to wellness!