Meet Emily Cox, aNu Functional Nutritionist

Why you need to know about Gut Health and Hormone Harmony

Meet Emily Cox of Emily Cox Wellness. She is a certified Yoga teacher and functional nutritionist here at aNu and the newest member of our team! We are so excited to learn from her and how she can help our ever-growing community. Emily’s main purpose and approach is to help you take back the reigns of your health with sustainable yet systematic practices. 

Now you might be asking what is a functional nutritionist. Functional Nutritions foundation is steeped in Functional medicine which takes a root cause approach to prevention and resolution of disease. Emphasizing diet, supplement, and lifestyle modifications, we abandon template medicine, and treat each individual person rather than their diagnoses. Opposed to a nutritionist that is really just looking at one singular set of nutrition guidelines that they believe will work for everyone, regardless of other lifestyle factors. The purpose of functional nutrition is to use food as a natural medicine to heal the gut, correct nutrient deficiencies, and restore balance. So the functional side really roots down into the source cause of our bodies’ red flags and how we can heal from the inside out.

Emily specializes in gut health and hormone harmony and believes that with the right guidance, tools, and motivation we can all take back the reigns of our health through sustainable, yet systematic practices. It is her mission to provide each person the unique tools they need to start living their best life and feeling fab, like yesterday! 

Emily, you specialize in gut health and hormone harmony, can you break that down for me? What does that look like and mean for the body and why is it important to be aware of? 

As humans, we are 10x more bacteria than we are in human DNA. These bacteria are responsible for and play a role in nearly every mechanistic pathway in the body: The production and release of hormones, the transmission of chemical signals to the brain, how well your immune system functions, whether you develop depression, or even more serious chronic illnesses like AD. Interestingly, upwards of 90% of diseases begin in the gut. So, in order to reach optimal health, we must address any GI imbalances and foster a good ratio of beneficial bacteria in the gut to support bodily functions and the necessary production and release of hormones. After all, our food acts as the building blocks for who we are on a daily basis…So what do you want to make up for? 

How did you get started in this service and what drives your passion to help others? 

I spent years trying to manage my own IBS symptoms and when western medicine fell short, I sought alternative modalities. At the time, there was little to no coursework around Functional Nutrition, so I decided to carve my own path and be own my physician. 

I began studying Yoga and was introduced to Ayurvedic practices while traveling through Eastern Asia. From there, I completed my health coaching certification which gave me a basic understanding of what’s possible with simple yet strategic dietary modification. My passion for this work grew stronger and I went on to get a master’s degree in Nutrition Science, which further validated my motivation to abandon template medicine and adopt a more bio-individual approach to healing. I have now been in private practice since 2017 and my goal is to facilitate healing from the inside out by educating my clients on how to get out of their own way, so they can start feeling their best because once you know how good you CAN feel, you’ll never want to go back! 

If I booked a session with you, what would that look like/entail?: 

I offer either 3, 6, or 12-month packages, where I see clients 1x per month. Typically our first session involves a deep dive into your back story. We review my comprehensive intake forms, discuss past lab and treatment information, and determine which lab tests are necessary to get to the root cause of your health concerns. We also go over your current dietary habits, health struggles, emotional blocks to food and healing, and your goals. The first session is mostly intake—we learn about your background to provide context for first action steps and future recommendations. After each session, you will receive a comprehensive and personalized email detailing specific dietary, lifestyle, and supplement recommendations, with clickable links to recommended resources.

What are your top 3-5 wellness/gut/hormone tips for our aNu community? 

My top hormone-balancing tips include: 

• Stabilize your blood sugar! 
• Address adrenal fatigue (aka stress) 
• Support organs of elimination 

My top gut health tips include: 

• Diversify your diet + Don’t forget the fiber 
• Chew your food to an applesauce consistency 
• Manage your stress + inflammation 

When it comes to our body’s red flags, what should we watch/listen for when it comes to our gut and hormone health? 

Hormone Health red flags: 

• Wake up tired (even with 7-9 hours of sleep) / have to take a nap after you work out. 
• Experience drastic mood and energy shifts throughout the day/irritability 
• Unexplainable weight gain or loss 
• Unexplainable loss of menses (amenorrhea) and/or moderate to severe PMS 

Gut Health red flags: 

• Bloating / gas / abdominal discomfort / acid reflux / heartburn / nausea
• Constipation / Diarrhea and/or stool that is light in color, floats or is incredibly foul-smelling. 
• Low immunity / gets sick easily 
• Food sensitivity / increased reaction to food 

Emily thank you so much for your time, if you could leave our community with one piece of knowing what would it be?

Probiotics + supplements/medications are not a panacea! 

You can’t out-supplement an unsupportive diet.