Rooted Wellness, 1213 S Kimbrough Avenue, Springfield, MO (2025)

11/25/2025

A Key Mechanism Behind Neurotransmitter Issues, Low NO, and Chronic Inflammation

BH4 is a tiny molecule which sits at the crossroads of neurotransmitter production, nitric oxide signaling, immune function, and inflammation. When it’s working well, BH4 quietly supports mood, cognition, vascular tone, and protein metabolism.

But under inflammatory stress, BH4 can get pushed into a dysfunctional cycle often called the BH4 shunt—and this can create a surprisingly wide range of symptoms.

Why BH4 Is So Important
BH4 is required for several major enzymatic steps:
• Converting phenylalanine → tyrosine
• Initiating dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine synthesis
• Initiating serotonin synthesis
• Helping nitric oxide synthase produce nitric oxide (instead of oxidative byproducts)

Because of this, BH4 has a direct impact on mood, motivation, blood flow, sleep, sensory processing, and overall inflammation.

What Happens During the “BH4 Shunt”
When inflammation, oxidative stress, or nitrosative stress increases, BH4 gets oxidized into BH2, which is essentially a non-functional version.

Once BH2 builds up:
• Neurotransmitter production slows
• Nitric oxide synthase becomes uncoupled and produces superoxide instead of nitric oxide
• Phenylalanine may accumulate
• Peroxynitrite formation increases
• Mitochondrial stress increases

This is why people can experience a combination of low mood, irritability, fatigue, sensory issues, poor focus, migraines, and dysautonomia even with a seemingly “good” diet and lifestyle.

How This Pattern Shows Up Clinically
People with BH4 disruption often present with a recognizable mix of symptoms and lab findings:
Neurological/behavioral:
• Low drive or flat mood
• Anxiety mixed with irritability
• Sensory sensitivities
• Sleep instability
• Mood lability

Physiological:
• Migraines
• Cold hands/feet
• “Wired but tired” stress response

Lab patterns:
• Elevated phenylalanine relative to tyrosine
• Low dopamine/NE metabolites
• Low serotonin metabolites
• Signs of oxidative or nitrosative stress
• Low nitric oxide markers
• Elevated quinolinic acid
• Poor tolerance of high-dose methyl donors
• Low NADPH support

Most people with mold exposure, heavy chronic inflammation, or neurodevelopmental challenges show some version of this pattern.

What Drives BH4 Into the Shunt
BH4 is extremely sensitive to oxidative conditions. The biggest contributors include:
• Mold/mycotoxins
• Chronic infections (including MARCoNS)
• Heavy metals
• Gut dysbiosis leading to elevated ammonia
• High iNOS activity
• Folate/B12 issues (including MTHFR-related changes)
• Mitochondrial dysfunction and low NADPH
• Chronic stress
• Environmental toxicants

When these are present, the body simply cannot recycle BH4 fast enough to keep levels stable.

Supporting This Pathway Clinically
There isn’t a single supplement that “fixes” BH4. The goal is to calm the drivers of oxidation while supporting recycling pathways. There are many strategies which can help, such as:

•Reducing oxidative/nitrosative stress
•Optimizing folate/methylation pathways
•Improving nitric oxide balance
•Addressing gut and ammonia issues
•Restoring NADPH production

And, of course, addressing upstream drivers like mold, heavy metals, or infections when present.

It is important to understand your physiology and/or work with a knowledgeable provider prior to starting a protocol as everyone is biochemically unique.

Why This Mechanism Matters
When BH4 is depleted or oxidized, it affects everything from neurotransmitter balance to blood flow to mitochondrial resilience. Many “mysterious” cases—especially children with neurological or behavioral symptoms—show clear signs of this pathway being disrupted.
Understanding BH4 gives us a better framework for why certain patients struggle with mood instability, sensory overload, sleep issues, chronic fatigue, or poor response to methylated vitamins. The good news is that once you identify the stressors pulling BH4 off track, this pathway is very responsive to targeted support.

11/24/2025

Week 3 Leucovorin Update for Our Sweet Girl

We’re officially three weeks into our daughter’s leucovorin journey, and this week has been full of meaningful, heart-opening changes. I want to share everything we’re seeing—both for our own record and for any other parent walking this road.

✨ Speech & Language Blossoming
Her expressive language took another big step forward this week. She is now:

• Calling her sisters by name
• Using consistent 2–3 word sentences (current favorite: “give me that”)
• Increasing her two-syllable words—her new obsession is “hedgehog”
• Correctly answering animal sound prompts when asked “What does a ___ say?”
• Humming recognizable tunes throughout the day
• Spontaneously singing little words and phrases related to whatever she’s doing
(the spontaneity is brand new and so precious)
These are all huge shifts from where we started.

✨ Social, Cognitive & Play Growth
We’ve also seen blossoming in her connection with the world around her:

• Doing full choreography to “Wheels on the Bus” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes”
• Initiating pretend play with interactions between her toy characters
• Following everyday social cues—throwing trash away, putting her dishes in the sink, and helping pick up toys when she sees us cleaning
• Appearing more attuned, present, and engaged with her surroundings and our family
It’s like she’s stepping into the room with us in a new way.

✨ Mild Regression → Rebound (Typical With Neurologic Healing)
We also want to note that she had a mild regression for a couple of days earlier this week—less engagement, a little more frustration, and a temporary dip in her new skills.

But then came a strong rebound, where skills returned and then surged forward.

This pattern is very typical when the neurological system starts receiving adequate folate—brief regressions often reflect active neural rewiring, followed by accelerated integration and gains. Knowing this helped us stay steady through the dip, and the rebound was incredible to see.

✨ Big Milestone: First Day at Her Goal Dose
And today is another milestone:
It’s her very first day at her goal dose of leucovorin.
We are so hopeful, grateful, and excited to see what the next weeks bring now that she’s at the full therapeutic dose.

✨ For Reference: Where We Started (Pre-Leucovorin)
Before beginning leucovorin:

• She used only 2–3 words daily (“no,” “mama,” and occasionally “that”)
• She might say a new word once, but never repeat it
• Her receptive language was strong, but expressive language was almost nonexistent
• She often wasn’t fully “in touch” with her surroundings
•She had a distinct "glazed" but also intense look in her eyes
• Mostly parallel play with little or no social initiation
• No spontaneous speech, no pretend play, and no initiation of communication
Seeing where we began makes her current progress feel even more profound.

✨ What We’re Feeling Now
We are watching our daughter open up, communicate, connect, and express herself in ways we had only hoped for. These moments—big and small—feel like miracles. It feels like she has "returned" to us.

And with her officially at her goal dose, we can’t wait to see what the next chapter brings.

11/24/2025

If you saw my post the other day about how functional medicine can make you feel weird, “floaty,” or almost “not yourself” at certain stages—this is the natural next piece of that conversation.

When you start shifting biochemistry—balancing hormones, stabilizing blood sugar, improving neurotransmitter pathways, lowering inflammation—your nervous system finally gets a chance to downshift from survival mode.

And when that happens, something interesting (and sometimes uncomfortable) shows up:
All the coping mechanisms and protective patterns you built during stress or dysregulation can suddenly start rising to the surface.

Not because anything is wrong—but because your system finally feels safe enough to process what it couldn’t before.

This is why healing can feel floaty, emotional, tired, wired, introspective, or even a little “off.” Your physiology changes first. Your psychology follows. And the two need to be integrated.

**Biochemistry alone isn’t the whole picture.
A multidisciplinary, whole-person approach is key.**

Functional medicine works best when the biochemical, neurological, and emotional layers are addressed together. This could look like:

🌿Therapy with trauma-informed professionals
Because when your defenses soften, old patterns can come forward.

🌿EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
This helps the brain safely process stored stress responses so they stop hijacking you.

🌿Conventional medication, when appropriate
For complex trauma or neuropsychiatric comorbidities, medications can stabilize mood, reduce anxiety, or improve sleep. When used alongside functional and somatic interventions, they provide a bridge that allows deeper physiological and emotional healing to occur safely.

🌿Somatic exercises
Teaching your body what "safe" actually feels like—through breathwork, grounding, movement, and interoception.

🌿Polyvagal-informed practices
Understanding the vagus nerve and how to work with your body’s states (safety, fight/flight, shutdown) creates a roadmap for navigating emotional waves during healing.

In addition to a functional medicine plan addressing:
• Nutrients and supplementation
• Hormonal balance
• Neurotransmitter pathways
• Detoxification
• Gut health
• Inflammation control

Bringing these elements together under a coordinated, multidisciplinary plan ensures your nervous system has the capacity to regulate as your body rewires itself.

The bottom line:
Healing isn’t just about supplements, labs, or a single therapy.
It’s a rewiring process—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

When your body starts functioning better, your brain and nervous system finally have the space to catch up… and sometimes that creates strange sensations along the way.

With the right, multidisciplinary support, those “floaty” or vulnerable moments become the doorway to deeper stability, resilience, and a sense of safety you may not have felt in years.

If you’re going through this: you’re not broken.

You’re adjusting.

And you’re heading toward a healthier, more integrated version of yourself.

11/24/2025

One of the biggest mistakes I see—online, in wellness communities, and even in clinical spaces—is the assumption that a supplement that helps one person will naturally help everyone. But the deeper you go into biochemistry, the more you realize that the same compound can be therapeutic for one person and destabilizing for another.

This is why “take magnesium glycinate,” “everyone needs methylfolate,” or “just use quercetin for inflammation” can create more problems than progress.
Below are a few examples of how biochemical individuality changes everything.

1. Glycine Isn’t Neutral for Everyone (Magnesium Glycinate)
Glycine is generally calming, but in people with:
• slow SHMT activity
• folate cycle inefficiencies
• impaired glycine-to-serine balance
…it can worsen neurotransmitter imbalance, sleep issues, or even ammonia buildup. Magnesium glycinate may be perfect for one person but overstimulating, fatiguing, or dysregulating for another—simply due to how their body handles glycine.

2. Methylfolate Isn’t Universally “Better”
Methylfolate supports the methylation cycle—if the downstream enzymes can keep up.
In individuals with:
• slow COMT
• impaired MAO function
• high catecholamine burden
• low magnesium or lithium
• insufficient BH4
methylfolate can cause:
• anxiety
• irritability
• racing thoughts
• insomnia
• estrogen-dominant symptoms
• emotional volatility
It’s not because the nutrient is “bad.” It’s because the system can’t clear the increased catecholamine load.

3. Quercetin & Luteolin: Great for Some, Rough for Slow COMT
These polyphenols slow catechol breakdown, which is beneficial in high-inflammation states. But in slow COMT individuals they can worsen:
• low mood
• irritability
• estrogen buildup
• “stuck” or flat emotions
• PMS/PMDD patterns
For someone with sluggish catechol clearance, these antioxidants become biochemical traffic jams rather than helpers.

4. NAC Isn’t Ideal for Everyone Either
NAC boosts glutathione—fantastic in many cases.
But if a person has:
• sulfur intolerance
• CBS upregulation or sluggish CBS
• SUOX issues
• thiosulfate buildup
• hydrogen sulfide SIBO
• impaired molybdenum pathways
NAC can cause:
• headaches
• irritability
• fatigue
• gut pain
• sulfur body odor
• brain fog
For these individuals, NAC worsens detox and inflammation instead of improving them.

5. “Soothing” Aloe Isn’t Soothing for Everyone
Aloe is rich in salicylates.
For a person who is salicylate-sensitive, aloe can flare:
• headaches
• rashes
• irritability
• sleep disruption
• gut pain
…and they may feel “mysteriously worse” after using a product marketed as gentle.

6. Bromelain for Inflammation Isn’t Universal Either
Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme with many benefits—but in someone with:
• high histamine load
• mast cell activation tendencies
• DAO insufficiency
…it can aggravate:
• flushing
• headaches
• sinus pressure
• itching
• mood instability
• post-meal fatigue
Not because bromelain is inherently harmful, but because their histamine clearance pathways are already overwhelmed.

7. Tyramine and Polyphenols in Slow MAO
People with slow MAO (monoamine oxidase) activity often struggle with high-tyramine or polyphenol-heavy supplements and foods.
This can trigger:
• irritability
• mood swings
• migraines
• hypertension spikes
• sleep changes
• overstimulation
Simply because their MAO enzyme can’t break down biogenic amines or catechols efficiently.

The Takeaway: The Same Supplement Can Be Healing or Harmful

A “helpful nutrient” only works when the underlying pathways can process it.

Two people can take the same supplement:
• one feels calmer, clearer, more focused
• the other feels anxious, inflamed, foggy, or exhausted

This isn’t placebo. It’s biochemistry.

🌱 Functional Medicine Is Personalized Medicine
This is why personalization matters:
• Genetics (COMT, MTHFR, MAO, CBS, SUOX, SHMT, PEMT, DAO, etc.)
• Active symptoms
• Gut health
• Detox capacity
• Nutrient status
• Inflammation level
• Environmental exposures
• Neurotransmitter balance

All influence how a supplement behaves once it hits the body.

11/19/2025

A lot of people starting functional medicine — especially those with MTHFR variants, slow COMT, adrenal dysregulation, low vagal tone, tryptophan pathway issues, gut imbalance, or CPTSD backgrounds — notice something confusing:

You start supportive nutrients…
● get overstimulated, intense, wired, irritable.
So you switch to gentler forms…
● and suddenly feel too calm, almost spaced out, foggy, or “not yourself.”
This experience is incredibly common — and deeply misunderstood.

That “spacy calm” isn’t a bad reaction. It’s your nervous system coming down from years of running on stress chemistry.

If your baseline has been fight-or-flight for most of your life, your brain learns to equate stress with being sharp, productive, and “normal.”

So when the body finally shifts into a lower-arousal, calmer state, it can feel like:
• dreamy or detached
• low motivation
• low arousal
• “too calm”
• mentally slowed
• like something is “off”

But this isn’t undermethylation or “not enough supplements.”

It’s simply unfamiliar.

It’s your brain experiencing a state it never got to live in.

People with trauma or chronic dysregulation often say:
“I only function well when I’m stressed.”
“If stress is low, I space out.”
“Is this what normal people feel like?”
Yes — and your body is learning a new baseline.
You’re not spaced out.
You’re calm… and the unfamiliarity feels threatening because your nervous system survived by staying activated.

This doesn’t only apply to methylation — it shows up across ALL healing pathways, including:

• Adrenal Repair
When cortisol drops from chronic high levels, people often feel “too tired” or “too calm” because they were running on adrenaline for years.

• Vagal Tone Improvement
When the vagus nerve strengthens and the body enters safety states, the shift from hypervigilance to digestion/rest can feel like “dissociation,” even though it’s actually regulation.

• Tryptophan Pathways
When inflammation lowers and tryptophan stops diverting down the kynurenine pathway, serotonin balance changes — calmness replaces survival-mode alertness, which can feel strange at first.

• Gut Healing
Reduced inflammation and a calmer gut-brain axis can feel like a “mental fog lifting,” but for someone used to stress chemistry, that clarity can paradoxically feel like being “out of it” in the beginning.

What’s happening overall:
For years, your nervous system relied on:
• high cortisol
• high catecholamines
• inflammatory drivers
• poor vagal tone
• gut-stress signaling
When these begin to normalize, your body finally steps out of survival mode — but your mind interprets the absence of chaos as unfamiliar or unsafe.

It isn’t understimulation.
It isn’t a deficiency.
It’s a transition.

What supports this adjustment phase will look different for each individual. Some generally helpful starting points:
• Magnesium for grounding calm
• Low-dose B1 or B2 for gentle focus
• Hydroxy-B12 instead of strong methyl donors
• Nervous-system supports like breathwork, humming, gargling
• Gentle adrenal support (vitamin C, electrolytes)

Your clarity will return — but from a regulated place, not a stress-driven one.
If this resonates with your healing journey, know you’re not alone.

Your body isn’t shutting down — it’s finally learning how to live without surviving.

11/18/2025

✨️Week 2 Update: Leucovorin Progress
It’s hard to believe it’s only been two weeks — the changes we’re seeing in our daughter are remarkable! (And she is still not at goal dose)

Sensory & emotional regulation:
• No longer doing ocular or vestibular stimming
• Softer, more relaxed look in her eyes
• Calm around loud vehicles — no longer going into fight-or-flight or panic

Language & communication:
• Up to 25+ new words
• Said 8 words from her “My First Words” book — several initiated independently, not just in response to prompts
• Beginning to use words in imaginary play:
- Making stuffed dog run & bark
- Driving toy cars while making car noises
- Feeding & tucking dolls, saying “there there”
• Sits through reading a book and listens attentively
• Uses statements appropriately:
-“Excuse me” after sneezing
-“Please” when requesting something
-“Cheeeese” when having her picture taken
- Asking for items by name instead of pointing
- Re-enacting things she has seen on TV, including phrases

Self-awareness & fine motor:
• Big milestone: pushes her bangs out of her eyes on her own rather than just staring through them!

We’re seeing so many little moments that add up to huge developmental leaps — it’s really exciting to watch her grow and interact with the world in such new, confident ways.

11/12/2025

🌿 A Personal Update from My Practice🌿

My work in functional medicine has always been personal, shaped by mine & my own family’s journeys. Many of you know my second daughter has faced a complex health path beginning in infancy — early mold exposure that led to body-wide eczema, multiple food sensitivities, and later, a significant regression after a second mold exposure around 14 months.

We spent months addressing the root causes: carefully guiding her through a mold recovery protocol, supporting her gut and immune systems, and rebuilding her overall resilience. Over time, the eczema improved and her health became more stable, but we still saw lingering neurological and developmental effects — she spoke only three repeated words, never initiated speech, and engaged mostly in parallel play, despite an obviously rich receptive vocabulary. Barely slept, had horrible tantrums.

Last week, we began leucovorin (folinic acid or calcium folinate) as part of her individualized plan. Within the first day, she spoke three new words, initiated play with her big sister, and began sleeping deeply for the first time in months.
Now, just seven days in — still only halfway to her target dose — she’s up to 12 new words, initiating conversations frequently, and playing with her sister for most of the day instead of alongside her. Her tantrums are fewer and milder, and when she wakes at night, she’s able to fall right back asleep. She’s even begun singing several songs she heard months ago — something she had never done before.

Every child’s story is unique, but experiences like this reaffirm why I’m so passionate about functional and root-cause approaches to care. When the body and brain finally get the support they’ve been missing, the changes can be both subtle and profound. 💚

I will continue to post updates on her journey and at a later time will post on the pathophysiology as to how she got to this point, and why leucovorin helped.

11/09/2025

The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) is the leading organization for functional medicine education and certification—and there are currently only a handful of IFM-certified practitioners in Missouri.

I’ve been practicing functional medicine for over 10 years and feel confident in the care and results I provide. Still, I’m currently completing the final course in the IFM Certified Practitioner (IFMCP) program and will be sitting for the certification exam in early 2026.

This additional credential ensures that my work continues to meet the highest professional standards and gives clients extra peace of mind knowing they’re working with a practitioner who values both experience and evidence-based training.

11/04/2025

We are excited to announce that we now offer financing through Care Credit! This is especially helpful if you would prefer a package option for your care. Visit rootedwellnessmo.com to view pricing and reach out with any questions!

11/02/2025

“Minerals are the principal energy-producing components of the human body. It is the relationships between the minerals in your tissues that help determine your physical and emotional destiny. Through an understanding and control of these basic laws of human energy, you can vastly increase the intensity and quality of your life.” - Dr Paul Eck

10/29/2025

🌿 Mood, Microbiome & Anti-Inflammation in a Mug ☕✨

At Rooted Wellness, we’re all about functional nourishment — finding comfort foods that heal while they satisfy.
Lately, my favorite ritual has been this rich, restorative hot drink — a blend of multi-collagen, colostrum, dark chocolate, and decaf coffee. It’s more than cozy — it’s biologically intelligent nutrition.

Let’s break down why:
🧠 Mood & Focus – The Power of Theobromine
Found naturally in dark chocolate, theobromine gently stimulates without the jittery crash of caffeine. It boosts cerebral blood flow and supports mood-regulating neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine — helping you feel focused, grounded, and uplifted.

🌱 Gut Immune Support – Colostrum & IgG
Colostrum is rich in immunoglobulins (IgG) that directly support the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) — your body’s largest immune organ. It helps seal and protect the gut lining, balance immune activity, and calm inflammation at its root.

💪 Collagen & the Brain–Gut Axis
Multi-collagen peptides provide amino acids like glycine and proline, which support neurotransmitter synthesis and calm the nervous system. They also nourish connective tissue in the gut barrier — promoting repair, resilience, and smooth communication along the brain–gut axis.

🥛 Not Pictured: A Splash of Cream
The healthy fats in cream are a perfect addition — they help stabilize blood sugar, slow caffeine absorption, and support cell membrane integrity in both neurons and intestinal cells. Fats are the building blocks of hormones and the raw material for myelin, which supports mood regulation and nerve communication. Plus, they enhance absorption of the fat-soluble antioxidants in dark chocolate, amplifying those anti-inflammatory benefits.

☕️ Decaf Coffee for Calm Energy
Decaf coffee still offers polyphenols — potent antioxidants that feed beneficial gut bacteria and reduce oxidative stress — but without overstimulating your adrenals.

💫 The result?
A cup that soothes inflammation, supports gut integrity, and nourishes both your mood and your microbiome.
Think of it as a functional latte for body and mind.

10/29/2025

🌿 Rooted Wellness Holiday Food & Vitamin Drive: Get Nourished, Give Nourishment

This season, Rooted Wellness is giving back to our local community — and we’d love for you to join us.
From now through December 25, we’re hosting a Holiday Food Drive to support families in need right here in the Ozarks.

You have two ways to participate:

🥫 1. Donate Nonperishable Food Items
Bring in canned goods, shelf-stable meals, or pantry staples to your next visit.
💚 When you bring your receipt, I’ll deduct the dollar amount of your donation (up to $50) from your visit cost.

💊 2. Support Nutrient Access
Donate directly to our Food or Supplement Fund to help provide meals, or prenatal vitamins and kids’ multivitamins to families who need them.
Because Rooted Wellness purchases supplements at wholesale pricing, your gift goes even further.
💚 Every dollar donated (up to $50) will be credited toward your visit, and you can contribute again at each appointment if you wish.

✨ Unlimited redemptions — give and receive as often as you’d like through Christmas Day.

Donations will be submitted to Crosslines--nonperishables on a biweekly basis; vitamins will be 1 purchase & donation at end of drive.

Together, we can make a real impact — nourishing our community while supporting your own wellness journey.

🗓️ Now through December 25
📍 Rooted Wellness — 1213 S Kimbrough Ave Springfield, MO
💌 Questions? Email rootedwellnessmo@protonmail.com

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