Passage 1: On Endings (and the body’s first response to change)
The body often knows before we do. An email lands, a conversation shifts, a familiar rhythm we've relied on starts to fray. And even before we name it as an ending, something in us has already registered the change, signaling that we've stepped out of accustomed territory and into the unknown. Sleep patterns break. Appetite loses its usual shape. There's a hum of vigilance just under the skin.
Anatomy of Transition: Your Introduction to this Limited Series
The body tells the truth about change before the mind has words for it: sleep alters, appetite wobbles, attention narrows or scatters. That's because transition isn't just an event; its a process with its own anatomy. Something ends. There's a middle that asks more of us than we first imagined.
Longevity & Meaning
In this episode, Andrea discusses the gaps in the ever present conversation around longevity and health. Andrea posits that storytelling, meaning and fulfillment are essential to a life well lived.
What Your Midlife Symptoms Are Really Telling You
In this episode, Andrea discusses why burnout and fatigue might be guiding you toward your next act, not just another supplement. Andrea also shares how functional nutrition, narrative medicine, and deep self-awareness can create real, lasting healing.
Functional Nutrition for Mental Health & Recovery
In this episode, Andrea discusses how functional nutrition offers a powerful framework for mental health and addiction recovery, from balancing brain chemistry with amino acids to reducing inflammation and supporting digestion. Listeners will discover simple, science-based strategies to calm the nervous system, improve mood, and reclaim their well-being.
What's Missing From The Conversation on Longevity
In this episode, Andrea discusses the unique challenges women face in midlife and beyond, why there’s no one-size-fits-all protocol for perimenopause and post-menopause, the role of hormone therapy, how Andrea applies the functional medicine matrix, why we need to pay attention to nervous system regulation, redefining identity and purpose as we age, and more.
Reclaim Your Health After 50
In this episode, Andrea shares shares how deep grief led her to reimagine wellness, build resilience, and teach thousands to trust their body’s wisdom. Listen in to learn: why one-size-fits-all health plans fail (and what works instead); Andrea’s “3 roots, many branches” framework for lasting change; how to decode symptoms as messages—not flaws; and what women over 50 can do right now to restore energy, balance, and clarity.
What to Do When You Feel Like You're Doing Too Much
In this episode, Andrea shares shares how she built Functional Nutrition Alliance while managing Hashimoto's, grief, and single parenthood—without burning out. We're diving into business strategies for chronic illness entrepreneurs, including the "base camp method" for sustainable business growth, why persistence beats consistency when your capacity changes, and how to pivot your expectations when chronic illness impacts your business.
Functional Nutrition vs. Dieting: What Actually Works
In this episode, Andrea shares how digging deep into the root causes of health challenges and moving beyond the one-size-fits-all approach so common in mainstream nutrition can help you on your health journey. She explains why you need to look at your whole story, your habits, symptoms, lifestyle, and not just the numbers or trendy diets.
Diagnosis to Determination: A Gut Health Journey
In this episode, Andrea discusses the top tools in Functional Medicine and Nutrition. She shares the importance of moving beyond one-size-fits-all solutions, emphasizing genetics, lifestyle, and environment. Join us to explore the gaps in Functional Medicine, the innovative framework she developed to bridge these gaps, chronic illness in our country, and unconventional approaches to testing.
Why Your Patients Need More Than Medical Care
In this episode, Andrea breaks down the often confusing world of functional nutrition and explains how it can transform healthcare practices. Andrea also shares how practitioners can integrate these services into their practices to better serve patients with chronic health issues, while working collaboratively within appropriate scopes of practice.
What Your Symptoms Are Trying to Tell You
In this episode, Andrea discusses the healing potential of personalized care, root cause medicine, and therapeutic partnerships. She also introduces the concept of narrative medicine, explaining why understanding a person’s unique story is key to restoring health.
Tools for Longevity
In this episode, Andrea discuss the pitfalls of one-size-fits-all protocols, the true science of longevity, practical ways to manage inflammation and blood sugar, and why cultivating genuine human connection may be one of our most powerful medicines.
Field Notes: Shapes of Sorrow
Today. July 16th marks my birthday. And later this week, the anniversary of Isamu’s death—twenty-three years ago.
These two dates live in tandem on the calendar. Just two days between them. And every year, I feel it—an invisible weight pulling through my chest, my breath, my skin. A kind of cellular knowing that this week hints at more than a passage of time. It’s another threshold.
Functional Nutrition & Aging with Vitality
In this episode, Andrea discusses what’s missing from today’s longevity conversation, why vitality is more important than just living longer, how over-testing and cookie-cutter protocols fall short in functional medicine and more!
A Holistic Approach to our Health
In this episode, Andrea discusses the 3 tiers of nutrition —the first one being the non-negotiables that includes sleep, poop, and blood sugar balance in-line with other tiers. She also reminds us that we have our own pharmacy within and it is a powerful tool we can all unlock!
Reclaiming Health through Functional Medicine
In this episode, Andrea discusses the importance of understanding the root cause of health issues rather than merely treating symptoms. Listeners will gain insights on how this holistic approach empowers individuals to reclaim ownership of their health and navigate their wellness journeys with confidence.
Mending 11: boundaries
Welcome to mending, a monthly haven where words meet inner wisdom, and stories intertwine with the art of health and healing. At the heart of Narrative Medicine is a belief in the power of the human story. Words, among other human expressions, have the ability to enlighten and connect us to our most vulnerable or even seemingly insignificant moments in life.
Field Notes: The Arc of Aging
In the early morning hours—when the world is quiet and the page is still listening—I often find myself returning to the stories I’ve inherited, those I’ve told many times, and others I’m only just beginning to reclaim. Lately, as I explore the world of longevity, those stories have circled around aging—not simply as a biological process, but as a reflection of culture. A culture that tells those in midlife and beyond: you’re disappearing. Your symptoms are glitches. Your wisdom has an expiration date.
Field Notes: The Quiet Hours & The Stories They Reveal
Last time I wrote to you, I shared some thoughts about the stories we carry—about health, aging, and what it means to live inside a body that doesn’t always follow the script.Lately, I’ve been trying to listen more deeply to my own.