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3rd Year Naturopathic Medical (ND) & Clinical Nutrition Graduate (MScN) Student in training
08/20/2026
How does your body know your lunch is food…but a peanut is a threat? 🥜🤔
Think about it.
You eat a sandwich, an apple, or some rice. Your immune system doesn’t normally freak out.
But for someone with a peanut allergy, eating a peanut can trigger a serious immune reaction.
So what makes the difference?
It starts in your gut.
Your gut isn’t just where food gets digested. It’s also a place where your immune system is constantly being exposed to the things you eat.
Your immune system has an important job: Figure out what’s harmless and what’s a threat.
For most foods, the immune system learns to basically say: “I know this. Leave it alone.” That’s called immune tolerance.
But with a food allergy, that tolerance doesn’t work the way it should.
In an IgE-mediated food allergy, the immune system can make a type of antibody called IgE against a food protein. This involves a Th2 immune response, including chemical messengers called IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13.
Those signals help set off the chain of events that can produce allergic symptoms.
And here’s where nutrition comes into the picture: What you eat → affects your gut environment → interacts with your immune system.
That doesn’t mean one “superfood” can prevent or cure food allergies. It’s much more complicated than that. But it does mean that food and the immune system are constantly communicating.
08/20/2026
Have you ever eaten something, felt terrible afterward, and immediately thought, “I must be allergic to that”? 😷
I used to think food allergies and food sensitivities were basically the same thing. Medical immunology taught me otherwise. 🧠💡
A food allergy is an immune-mediated hypersensitivity reaction to a food. But not every unpleasant reaction to food is an allergy. Food intolerance can involve completely different mechanisms, and “food sensitivity” is often used as a broad term for symptoms associated with eating certain foods. 🎯
Understanding the difference matters because the immune system, the symptoms, and the appropriate approach aren’t necessarily the same. ❌
Nutritional immunology asks a bigger question: what is happening at the intersection of food and the immune system? 🤔
That’s the conversation I’d want to have with patients…not simply labeling every food reaction as an “allergy.”
Went to pick up groceries and came home thinking about cholesterol 🫀
08/02/2026
A reminder to myself that life isn’t just lectures, exams, and deadlines.
Sometimes it’s looking out a window, taking a deep breath, and appreciating where you are.
Portland has been teaching me more than medicine lately. 🌊🤎
I came here to talk about my hearing aids…
But now I’m realizing we have a few things to discuss. 😂
The hearing aids.
The wick locs.
The piercings.
And the fact that I’m a medical student who doesn’t look like the picture I once had in my head of what a doctor was “supposed” to look like.
Funny how growth works.
Sometimes embracing yourself is the biggest barrier you break. 🤎
Did you know agriculture isn’t just about what comes out of the ground? 🚜🌾
For my Master’s in Clinical Nutrition course, I went back to a staple of my childhood: White’s Farm in Vanceboro, NC.
What started as a single acre of strawberries in 1986 has grown into 17 acres of community connection, youth education, and local partnerships.
As nutrition students, we focus heavily on food systems. Seeing how one farm keeps agriculture visible, instead of hiding it behind grocery store shelves, totally shifted my perspective. 🥦✨
📍Location: White’s Farm, 5200 US-17, Vanceboro, NC🗺️ White’s Farm
⭐️ How to Find a Farm Near You? ⭐️ Want to experience this vibe yourself but don’t live in Eastern NC? 🤔
1️⃣ Use the USDA Local Food Directory online to search your zip code. U.S. Department of Agriculture
2️⃣ Check out LocalHarvest.org to map out nearby community-supported agriculture (CSAs) and farm stands. Riverview Produce Farms CSA 🌱
3️⃣ Search your state’s Department of Agriculture website for certified roadside markets! USDA Ag Marketing Service
Let’s keep our local agriculture alive 🤩 What’s your favorite farm to visit near you? Let me know below! 💬⬇️
For a long time, I thought I understood what “medicine” meant.
The truth is, I had inherited a definition without ever realizing it.
Studying naturopathic medicine (ND) and clinical nutrition (MScN) has challenged me to examine my own assumptions just as much as I’ve learned anatomy, physiology, and immunology.
I’ve learned that healthcare isn’t about proving one approach is “better” than another.
It’s about asking better questions.
• What does this patient need?
• What does the evidence show?
• What are the risks and benefits?
• What aligns with the patient’s goals and values?
The more I learn, the more I realize that becoming a healthcare provider isn’t just about gaining knowledge. It’s about becoming someone willing to rethink what they thought they knew.
That’s the transformation I didn’t expect.
Because honestly, what’s tea? ☕️😅
Your immune system really puts belt to ass when cooties try to step into your body. 🦠 But before it starts throwing punches, it has to play bouncer and ask two massive questions.
Drop a 🥊 if this made sense, and save this for your next study session! 📌
Your liver makes C-reactive protein (CRP) in response to inflammation.
Turning up the med facts over the noise 🔊
Educational purposes only.
Fun fact I just learned 🌿 Metformin was inspired by compounds found in Galega officinalis (Goat’s Rue). Just appreciating how nature shows up in medicine in unexpected ways.
Glucophage translates to “glucose eater.”
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