Kristen Carlson Wellness

01/22/2026

I’m hosting a free interactive seminar with to discuss exactly how to take the driver’s seat of your own biology on January 29th at 6pm EST in person at South Portland location and on zoom.

You’ll leave with clarity and guidance on how to eat and live in a way that prevents chronic illness.

There will also be plenty of time to ask questions and troubleshoot how to enhance your own routines.

Participants will learn how to:
Identify and remove hidden inflammatory triggers.
The “internal firefighters” found in your grocery store.
The science of reversing chronic disease.



Reply STOP to cancel. Reply HELP for help.

01/15/2026

This past Monday I got to teach nutrition to the dancers of

As a former dancer, I know the pressure, the long rehearsals, classes, and performances, and how confusing nutrition can feel in dance culture.

We covered:
How nutrition, energy availability, and the nervous system impact dance performance, recovery, and artistry

The dancer’s energy systems and why carbohydrates, protein, and fats are all essential

Signs and consequences of under-fueling, fatigue, hormonal disruption, and low energy availability

Practical fueling strategies for classes, rehearsals, and performances, including timing, snacks, and hydration

Hunger hormones, stress, and perfectionism: why hunger cues get lost or feel chaotic

Gut health, performance anxiety, and tools to calm the gut–brain axis

Preventing energy crashes during long training days with “mini-fuels”

Body image and mindful eating through a nervous-system and physiology lens

Red flags that indicate when nutrition may be affecting health or performance and when to seek support

Strong, well-nourished dancers dance better and longer.

01/05/2026

For years, I lived in a body that felt confusing and unpredictable. I struggled with fatigue, acne, hormonal swings, gut issues, amenorrhea, and blood sugar crashes—while being told my labs were “fine.” I ate the “right” foods, pushed through stress, and kept functioning… until I finally gave my body permission to slow down.

That experience shaped my career in nutrition and led me to functional nutrition. I learned that symptoms aren’t random—and they’re not a personal failure. They’re signals.

This workshop is deeply personal. It was created from lived experience, clinical work with women who feel dismissed or confused, and a science-based understanding of physiology.

By the end of this workshop, you will:
• Understand how hormones interact across the female lifespan
• Learn nutrition strategies for cycle health, PCOS, thyroid, adrenals, perimenopause, and menopause
• Leave with practical tools you can actually use

This is compassionate, evidence-based support designed to leave you feeling empowered—not broken—and clear on how to move forward with your hormone health.

✨ Pre-register for this FREE workshop here:
👉 https://www.roottorisephysicaltherapy.com/events/scarborough-maine-hormone-harmony-nutrition-workshop

Hormones impact everything from energy and mood to metabolism and cycle health—and your nutrition needs change across every life stage. 🌿

Join Kristen Carlson, Licensed Functional Nutritionist and National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, for Hormone Harmony, a FREE nutrition workshop exploring how food, blood sugar, stress, and metabolism influence hormonal health from the menstrual cycle through perimenopause and menopause.

✨ Walk away with practical, sustainable tools to support balance, vitality, and long-term health.

📍Root To Rise Scarborough Studio

Free workshop | Pre-registration required- Link below to save your spot!

https://www.roottorisephysicaltherapy.com/events/scarborough-maine-hormone-harmony-nutrition-workshop

12/23/2025

Hormones impact everything from energy and mood to metabolism and cycle health—and your nutrition needs change across every life stage. 🌿

Join Kristen Carlson, Licensed Functional Nutritionist and National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, for Hormone Harmony, a FREE nutrition workshop exploring how food, blood sugar, stress, and metabolism influence hormonal health from the menstrual cycle through perimenopause and menopause.

✨ Walk away with practical, sustainable tools to support balance, vitality, and long-term health.

📍Root To Rise Scarborough Studio

Free workshop | Pre-registration required- Link below to save your spot!

https://www.roottorisephysicaltherapy.com/events/scarborough-maine-hormone-harmony-nutrition-workshop

11/23/2025

Ever felt like your hunger cues are all over the place — one day you have zero appetite, the next you’re craving everything in sight? You’re not alone.
⠀
Your hunger isn’t just your stomach — it’s a conversation between your brain, gut, fat tissue, pancreas & nervous system.⁠
⠀
In my latest blog I dive into the hormones behind it:
🔬 Ghrelin (makes you feel hungry)
🔬 Leptin (signals fullness)
🔬 Insulin, Adiponectin, plus hunger-hormones like Peptide‑YY, Glucagon‑like peptide‑1 (GLP-1) & Cholecystokinin (CCK).
⠀
Here’s what can throw them off: skipped meals, ultra-processed food, low protein/fat/fiber, stress, and poor sleep.
⠀
📝 Want to get back in sync with your body? Start with these:
➡️ Prioritize protein (aim for ~1.6-2.2 g/kg ideal body weight)
➡️ Add healthy fats + fiber
➡️ Regular meals, whole foods
➡️ Sleep and stress aren’t optional.
⠀
Your body is talking to you — let’s learn to listen and respond with nourishment, not frustration. ❤️

https://www.kristencarlsonwellness.com/blog

11/23/2025

Ever felt like your hunger cues are all over the place — one day you have zero appetite, the next you’re craving everything in sight? You’re not alone.
⠀
Your hunger isn’t just your stomach — it’s a conversation between your brain, gut, fat tissue, pancreas & nervous system.⁠
⠀
In my latest blog I dive into the hormones behind it:
🔬 Ghrelin (makes you feel hungry)
🔬 Leptin (signals fullness)
🔬 Insulin, Adiponectin, plus hunger-hormones like Peptide‑YY, Glucagon‑like peptide‑1 (GLP-1) & Cholecystokinin (CCK).
⠀
Here’s what can throw them off: skipped meals, ultra-processed food, low protein/fat/fiber, stress, and poor sleep.
⠀
📝 Want to get back in sync with your body? Start with these:
➡️ Prioritize protein (aim for ~1.6-2.2 g/kg ideal body weight)
➡️ Add healthy fats + fiber
➡️ Regular meals, whole foods
➡️ Sleep and stress aren’t optional.
⠀
Your body is talking to you — let’s learn to listen and respond with nourishment, not frustration. ❤️
⠀
👉 Read the full blog (link in bio) to dig deeper and get practical tips.
⠀

11/06/2025

Back in 2010, I published my book Quantum Supplements, where I first explored the idea that nutrients are more than biochemistry. They also carry subtle energetics that interact with the body on many levels, including the chakra system. I’ve distilled that concept here into a simplified visual: a symbolic spectrum of vitamins.

Whether we view the body through molecules or meaning, both are valid languages. Science and spirituality are not opposites. They are mirrors of the same truth.

Here’s how each vitamin supports us physiologically:
Vitamin A – supports vision and immune integrity
Vitamin B1 – helps spark energy from carbohydrates
Vitamin B2 – drives redox reactions for cellular energy
Vitamin B3 – supports NAD+ formation and detox pathways
Vitamin B5 – helps build CoA for stress and hormone response
Vitamin B6 – assists in neurotransmitter and hemoglobin production
Vitamin B7 – supports healthy skin, hair, nails, and metabolism
Vitamin B9 – essential for DNA synthesis and methylation
Vitamin B12 – nourishes blood, nerves, and methylation cycles
Vitamin C – helps form collagen and defend against oxidative stress
Vitamin D – supports calcium balance, immune health, and circadian rhythm
Vitamin E – helps maintain cell membrane integrity
Vitamin K – directs calcium to bones and away from arteries

We often talk about nutrient deficiencies in the physical sense, but have we considered the energetic deficiency of a nutrient as well?

If a vitamin supports vision, repair, resilience, clarity, flow, or protection in the body… where might that also be needed in our inner life?

10/29/2025

Most people think hunger is simple—eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full.

But when your body is under stress, those signals get scrambled.
Cortisol (the stress hormone) rises, and suddenly:
Ghrelin (your hunger hormone) keeps shouting, even when you’ve eaten.
Leptin (your fullness hormone) gets quiet—you can’t tell when to stop.

Insulin can’t deliver the message that you’ve had enough.
It’s not lack of discipline. It’s a stress response.
The healing process begins when we create a sense of safety—both physically and emotionally.

When cortisol levels drop, blood sugar levels stabilize, and the body begins to trust again.

That’s when hunger and fullness cues return.
Healing isn’t linear. It’s one act of nourishment, one moment of self-compassion at a time.
When we rebuild safety, the hormones—and the person—begin to come back into balance.

If this resonates, this is the work I do—helping clients and organizations understand the emotional and physiological roots of nourishment.

Let’s build a healthier relationship with food and stress together.

10/29/2025

Please help support our local business!! ✨✨✨✨✨

We would be SO grateful if you could set your alarms and reminders to vote for us each day for the next 2 weeks in the Best of 207! 🙏 🙏 🙏

We are thrilled to share that Root To Rise has been nominated as the Best Women's Clinic, Best Acupuncturist, Best Physical Therapist, and Best Yoga/Pilates studio in Maine in this year's Portland Radio Group's Best of the 207 contest!

​
Voting starts TODAY and runs for two weeks until 5pm on the 12th of November.

You can vote in all three categories every day (under ‘Health and Beauty’) and it would mean so much much to us and our local business to win!

To Vote:

1. Go to https://bestofthe207.com/vote/
2.Click on Health & Beauty Category
3.Click through and vote for us in:
💛 Best Women's Clinic
💛 Best Acupuncturist
💛 Best Yoga/Pilates Studio
💛 Best Physical Therapist

Thank you for your nominations!

We are incredibly honored and grateful to support the Southern Maine community and we couldn't do it without you and we SO appreciate you! ❤️ 🙏

10/26/2025

Nutrition is often seen as calories, macros, and meal plans. These are SUPER supportive tools- But our relationship with food is much deeper—it’s tied to our emotions, stress, and personal history.

In my latest blog, I explore how emotional eating shows up—not just as overeating, but also as restriction—and the physiological mechanisms behind it. I share parts of my own journey, including the challenges of hypothalamic amenorrhea, chronic injuries, and autoimmune flare-ups, and how these experiences shaped my approach to healing.

I struggle with this every day and the growth I’ve made in this area has improved the quality of my life and health. The back-and-forth between restriction and emotional eating affects not only emotional and mental state, but also my relationships and my ability to fully enjoy life.

Sometimes people assume that because I work in nutrition, I have it all figured out—or that I think I do. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I embrace these challenges, because by experiencing them as a human, I can better support others navigating food noise, confusion, restriction, and emotional eating.

If you’re ready to explore the emotional side of nutrition and build a healthier, more compassionate relationship with food, I invite you to read the full article or reach out to start your journey:
https://www.kristencarlsonwellness.com/blog/beyond-nutrition-healing-the-emotional-body-through-food

https://www.kristencarlsonwellness.com/blog/beyond-nutrition-healing-the-emotional-body-through-food

10/26/2025

As a clinical nutritionist working for a globally recognized longevity practice, I can tell you — it’s not the flashy trends that make the biggest impact. It’s the unsexy, consistent habits that change everything:

✅ Choose whole, minimally processed foods
🌈 Increase plant intake and try to eat the rainbow every day
🥑 Balance healthy fats (omega-3s, olive oil, nuts, avocado)
🍽️ Eat balanced meals that include protein, fat, and fiber
🌾 Focus on fiber — aim for 30–35g per day
🍗 Diversify protein sources and try to get ~30g per meal
🌿 Use anti-inflammatory herbs & spices
🧘‍♀️ Be mindful of portions and eat slowly

These simple principles support blood sugar balance, hormone health, and long-term energy — the foundations of feeling good in your body every day.

As someone who’s helped hundreds of clients move from confusion to confidence around food, I can promise: boring consistency beats short-term perfection every time.

✨ Save this post for a reminder of what really matters.

09/29/2025

I’m excited to share my latest blog, which delves into how nutrition impacts every aspect of our well-being — from immune function and energy levels to mood, longevity, and disease prevention.

In the post, I cover:
• The biological links between inflammation, oxidative stress, and diet
• How gut health and the microbiome play a central role
• Practical, everyday nutrition strategies you can begin implementing now
• Why personalized guidance often outperforms one-size-fits-all advice

If you’re curious about how food truly acts as “information” for your cells — and want to use nutrition as a powerful tool to support your health — I’d love for you to check it out:

➡️ https://www.kristencarlsonwellness.com/blog/why-nutrition-matters-the-foundation-of-whole-body-health