Good Neighbor Podcast: Rochester
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of Rochester
Good Neighbor Podcast: Rochester
EP#129: Wellness Collaborative with Jennifer Watson
What if you could uncover the secrets to optimal health by simply understanding your body's own signals? Join us as Jennifer Watson from the Wellness Collaborative shares her transformative journey from traditional to functional medicine—a shift sparked by her son's health struggles. Her story is a testament to the power of seeking answers beyond the conventional "pill for an ill" approach. Jennifer offers a compelling narrative on how functional medicine harnesses the body's innate healing capacity with the aid of comprehensive lab testing, tailored nutrition, and lifestyle changes. This method doesn't just mask symptoms but seeks to resolve the root causes, providing a roadmap to wellness that is both personalized and empowering.
Jennifer debunks myths surrounding functional medicine, addressing misconceptions. She highlights the critical role of cortisol and stress in health, especially for women navigating perimenopause. Through her insights, listeners learn why the old mantra of "eat less, exercise more" might actually undermine well-being by introducing additional stress. This episode is rich with practical advice and innovative health strategies that challenge traditional norms. Jennifer's expertise invites listeners to rethink their approach to health, urging them to embrace a more holistic path to harmony and balance in their lives. Don't miss this opportunity to gain a new perspective on your health journey!
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lisa Swiftney.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone and welcome to Episode 129 of the Good Neighbor Podcast. Today, I have with us Jennifer Watson, and she is with the Wellness Collaborative. How are you doing today, jennifer? I'm great, lisa, thank you. Wellness Collaborative. How are you doing today, jennifer? I'm great, lisa, thank you for having me. How are you? I'm doing really well, thank you. Let's first start off by telling our audience about your business. What do you do?
Speaker 3:Yes, thank you. So we are Wellness Collaborative. It's a virtual functional medicine consulting practice that's dedicated to wellness empowerment. We like to help families go beyond conventional band-aid approaches and focus on uncovering and addressing the underlying causes of their health challenges.
Speaker 2:That is good, and so many people are looking for different ways to, you know, review their health and functional medicine is, I want to say, the up and coming, but it's been around for a little while.
Speaker 3:Yes, I should say, it's actually the old medicine and traditional medicine is the new medicine.
Speaker 2:Right, right. So tell our listeners about your journey. How did you get started?
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. I've been in traditional medicine for over 20 years. I started off as a nurse and then became a family nurse practitioner and loved what I did, but then my son became ill and we struggled to find answers and that finally led me down the road of discovery and found functional medicine and it was a light bulb moment for me and my family.
Speaker 2:Wow, that is amazing. Can you tell us a little bit about any myths or misconceptions that you hear about in your industry?
Speaker 3:Oh, absolutely. Well, I think there are. Like you said, functional medicine is up and coming and I think it's becoming more mainstream. But a lot of people don't know exactly what it is and think, oh, maybe it's like woo-woo and strange, you know, but functional medicine really believes that the body has an innate ability to heal itself. So when it has all that it needs, the body can really be in balance and harmony, so understanding that there really is a way to find a solution to your problem and not be left with just a medication or what we call a pill for an ill.
Speaker 3:So what functional medicine does is it looks at testing. So it looks at lab testing and maybe when you go to your doctor you're feeling really crummy, doctor, you're feeling really crummy, right? I see that a lot of times they're feeling low energy, maybe GI issues, and they do your lab work and the doctor says, well, you're fine, right, Everything looks normal. And functional medicine is able to look at that lab work in a new way and look and say, oh, this is really the optimal range that it should be in and your lives really aren't normal. It's not in your head. There is an issue and we can actually fix it, and we do that with a variety of approaches. Sometimes it's supplements, looking at different herbs, vitamins, minerals. Sometimes it's nutrition that needs to be optimized.
Speaker 3:A lot of people think that they're really eating healthy and maybe they're not. I have a lot of women, especially when they get in perimenopause, they're actually not eating enough and they actually need to eat more or they need to eat a bigger variety of foods. And sometimes it's lifestyle. As you get in perimenopause too, your adrenals are actually helping create your hormones that your ovaries used to, and so you're very stressed and the stress and the high cortisol is actually affecting everything downstream and contributing to the issues. So it's really able to look at all the different body systems and how they work together and create a lifelong plan that can help people feel better.
Speaker 2:Wow, and I've heard more and more about the cortisol. Never knew what cortisol levels were before, never heard about them until the last couple of years, and I'm like, hmm. And I've also heard about people that go on these low calorie diets and the reason they can't sustain is because they're not eating enough absolutely.
Speaker 3:Yes, we've been taught for a very long time that you eat less and exercise more, and that can be one of the biggest detriments to our health, actually, because it creates stress when you're not eating enough food. Food is fuel your body needs, and when you're not giving it enough fuel, for sure you're going to be cranky or tired or low energy.
Speaker 2:True, true. When you're not working on your business, what do you like to do for fun? I heard you have a few children.
Speaker 3:Yes, so I have three kids, one in high school and two in middle school, and so my free time is often spent. I love watching them in their sports, whether it's going to a cheer practice or a middle school, and so my free time is often spent. I love watching them in their sports, whether it's going to a cheer practice or a soccer game. But my biggest thing is I like to try new things, so I'm always doing something new, whether it's taking a cooking class or trying a new restaurant or hanging out with my husband.
Speaker 2:Oh fun. I like doing cooking classes too, One of my favorite things, In fact. I know a gal in Rochester and I'm doing a fun class with her coming up in two weeks. I'm pretty excited. Gives you new ideas when you go to those cooking classes.
Speaker 3:Absolutely Well, and sourdough is the new big thing, so that's something that I'm going to learn how to do myself.
Speaker 2:Good, that'll be fun. Yeah, can you describe one hardship or life challenge that you rose above and can now say because of that challenge that you're better and or stronger? Absolutely Well.
Speaker 3:I would really like to touch upon.
Speaker 3:When my son got sick, I think I had the benefit of having some knowledge, being a healthcare provider myself, but what I really strive to do is help other people become an advocate for their own health.
Speaker 3:That's something that, when my son got sick, I had to start really doing some of my own research and not relying on the doctor to tell me what to do, but really step into as a mom and as a woman and a researcher, stepping into my own own intuition and understanding that there is something wrong and there's something more out there, and needing to find what that answer really is. And once I finally let myself do that and delve into the research and went back to school, I was able to not only help my son but then help my whole entire family and extended family. And now this is what I get to do and I really, really love it and found my true calling and my true passion. That's one thing that I hope other people can do is really learn to be an advocate for yourself and trust yourself. If you feel like something is off, you know, look for another answer.
Speaker 2:I think that is so important, because we have to learn to advocate for ourselves, because nobody else will do that. I think in general, people rely on modern medicine and don't listen to their bodies. What is one thing you wish our listeners knew about your business?
Speaker 3:oh well, there's a couple things, but one thing, I think with functional medicine we don't take insurance, because when you take insurance you have to rely or you basically work for the health insurance company. They dictate what tests you can do, how, how often you can meet, and I work for my clients, so we do take HSA and FSA. So that's one thing that I think people forget. You may have free money sitting out there somewhere with an HSA or FSA account, so we do take those and we're virtual, so we can work with anyone anywhere, which I really love.
Speaker 2:That is good and it is so important. It's funny how insurance does dictate a lot of what we can and cannot do, absolutely. Our listeners are now intrigued. They love your story. They want to learn more. How can they contact you?
Speaker 3:Yes, so they can go to our website. It's jenniferwatsonwellnesscom. There is a application that you can fill out. It just lets me know a little bit more about you and what you're looking for and then we work together to have a free consultation and where we can learn more about how we work together. Or they can call us at 248-221-2720.
Speaker 2:Great, Jennifer. Thank you so much for being a guest on our Good Neighbor podcast today.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for having me. This is wonderful and I look forward to working with you again in the future.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, Rochester. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnprochestercom. That's gnprochestercom, or call 248-988-9640.