Are you tired of doctors telling you “nothing is wrong,” “your labs look fine,” or even offering you yet another pharmaceutical/procedure without any explanation for WHY you have these issues?

Do you want someone to help you actually address the root causes of chronic health issues such as:

Poor gut health

Stress and HPA Axis dysfunction

Hormonal and endocrine imbalances

Inflammation and immune dysfunction

High toxic burden

Hyperinsulinemia and metabolic derangements 

Mitochondrial and energy dysfunction

The Live Well Course and Planner will equip you with the knowledge and accountability to successfully implement Dr. Beard’s 12 Functional Medicine Fundamentals – 12 powerful, anti-inflammatory, and metabolic rebalancing lifestyle habits essential for vibrant health.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”   Matthew 7:24-26

This one-of-a-kind course and planner will help you build and maintain a strong rock solid foundation of physical, mental, and spiritual health.

The Live Well Course and Planner include:

16 Online Modules with:

• Step-by-step videos explaining how to use the planner by Hannah Tikson, Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach with Dr. Beard’s practice
• Exclusive videos/podcasts with Dr. Amy Beard and her husband, Paul Buch, explaining the Functional Medicine Fundamentals in more detail and sharing their abundant wisdom on each topic (there is so much to learn)
• Additional PDF tools to help you implement and achieve your health goals 
• A private FaceBook community to share and gather information during your journey

Your Lifestyle Can Transform Your Health

“I use these same fundamentals outlined in the Live Well health planner in my practice, and I have seen them transform the health of my patients. These patients were able to finally ditch the pharmaceuticals, avoid unnecessary surgeries and the removal of vital organs, and go on to live healthier and happier lives.” Amy Beard MD

• Most illnesses and diseases are lifestyle related. YOU are in control of your health, not the doctor or hospital. Heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, IBS, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and MANY other health issues are 90% dependent on one’s daily lifestyle choices. Your genetics load the gun, but your lifestyle pulls the trigger.

• Medical bills are now the number one reason for bankruptcy and financial hardship.

• Six in ten adults in the United States currently live with a chronic health condition. About 40% of American adults have multiple chronic conditions.  

• Longevity is directly related to lifestyle. The “Blue Zones”, locations where the highest concentration of people over 100 that are in good health, all practice the principles outlined in my planner everyday as part of their normal routine. 

• We are commanded by God to take care of the bodies He has given us.

Clear the Smoke: The First Step in My Functional Medicine Practice

Too much “smoke” (ie., inflammation) clouds and complicates the healing process. 

90% of most patients’ problems are a result of their daily lifestyle choices.  In order to uncover and address the root causes of a particular health issue, it helps to clear the smoke from the following lifestyle choices: 

• Inflammatory diets 
• Inadequate restorative sleep
• Inadequate and inappropriate hydration 
• Toxin exposures
• Too little or too much physical activity 
• Excessive mental and emotional stress
• Spiritual “droughts” 
• Lack of intimacy and time spent with God 
• Too little time spent in nature
• And many other behaviors 

My planner removes the smoke so you can clearly identify the root cause(s). Before spending your valuable time and hard-earned money with any Functional Medicine doctor, you need to clear the smoke to make their jobs easier. And many times, just clearing the smoke takes care of the problem–the fire has been extinguished.

This practical, root-cause approach is what sets my practice apart. While the fundamentals may seem “basic,” many new patients are admittedly not adhering to them. These patients are either confused by conflicting health information and/or they have a hard time implementing the fundamentals in the midst of a busy life. 

My hope in creating this planner is to help you overcome chronic health issues from the “root up” by implementing the fundamentals and God’s design for health.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies..”

Let’s look at the fruit of our modern healthcare system:

* the U.S. spends billions and billions of dollars on healthcare each year yet longevity is decreasing 

* the prevalence of chronic disease is increasing rapidly among all groups

* over half of the population takes at least one pharmaceutical regularly (and many are taking 8+ pharmaceuticals daily) 

* chronic disease and use of pharmaceuticals is drastically increasing among the young 

* infant mortality is rising

I don’t know about you, but this system doesn’t seem like it’s producing good fruit. The allopathic medicine “pill for an ill” model is what is practiced in the US and other western countries. It simply means to treat the symptom. This approach works great if you break an arm or have a ruptured appendix. But this model is terrible for resolving chronic symptoms. (A diagnosis is simply a name given to a collection of symptoms.) 

Same Symptom, Different Root Cause

In my practice I often see different patients with the same symptom, but who have very different root causes (lifestyle choices) for the symptom. And I often see patients with similar lifestyles (root causes) who present with very different symptoms. Think about that and then consider the allopathic “pill for an ill” approach.

Examples:

* Dairy sensitivity can present as→eczema and/or chronic sinus infections and/or chronic UTIs

* Inflammatory diet→anxiety and/or joint pain and/or frequent illness

* High toxin exposures→neuropathy and/or poor blood sugar control and/or insomnia

* Inadequate restorative sleep→trouble losing weight and/or diabetes and/or chronic pain

* Poor gut health→autoimmune disorders and/or chronic fatigue and/or hormonal imbalances

Root causes and mediators of chronic issues caused by one’s lifestyle choices are rarely considered in the modern healthcare system’s exam room. Because such things are not taught in the medical school room. In fact, much of modern medicine seems to think the Creator made lots of mistakes with His design, and that these mistakes must be corrected with symptom-treating pharmaceuticals, surgeries, and procedures.

It’s the medical system that’s broken and failing you

I know plenty of competent, intelligent and caring doctors. Many are my friends. While these caring doctors want the best for you, they simply weren’t given the tools to help you (and most don’t know it). And the system in which they must work does not have your best interests at heart.

* Physicians are not taught about root causes and mediators of chronic disease. Instead, physicians are taught to treat symptoms with pharmaceuticals, surgeries, and procedures. 

* Physicians are groomed to distrust any information not endorsed by medical journals, professional specialty associations, and government health groups which are all heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry

* Medical school curriculum is heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry

* Medical training culture encourages the mocking of “alternative medicine”, “holistic medicine”, and/or “natural medicine”  

* Insurance companies dictate how and to whom care is delivered and which treatments are allowed. (Don’t you love seeing the back of your doctor as she/he types on a computer?)

* Your treatments are dictated by “Standard of Care” which is determined by researchers, administrative agencies, state legislatures, and very few actual practicing physicians

* Your health is not the top priority; the bottom line takes precedence

Everyone wants to think that their health issue is complicated.

No one wants to think that their health issues have simple causes. We can thank the current system’s programming for making true health and freedom from pharmaceuticals seem like an impossibility. If only you could see just how insidious the cascading effects of poor lifestyle choices are to your health! 

I could spend hours and hours with a flow chart showing you the downstream effects of poor lifestyle choices…on your cells’ mitochondria…the expression of your DNA…your immune system…circadian rhythm…your endocrine system…cognitive abilities…your hormonal balance…the GI microbiome and gut health…your emotional wellbeing. To sum it up, the symptoms of downstream damage can look complicated, but let me assure you…everything has a cause. And it’s usually not just one cause but a collection of lifestyle choices (causes) that come together to form the perfect storm. Show me a condition–heart disease, cancer, autoimmune disease, obesity, diabetes–and I’ll show you multiple possible connections to the fundamentals. 

Stop making it harder than it needs to be

I see it all the time in patients with the best of intentions and motivations. There are many self imposed hurdles placed in the way to overcoming chronic health issues:

• the belief that any effort to improve one’s health must involve Herculean efforts 
• the “go big or go home” mentality
• placing all of one’s hope in the latest “biohack”, superfood, colon cleanse, new diet, or magic supplement
• believing you can supplement your way out of poor health*

*Yes, I sell supplements. But these products are used as strategic and temporary tools to speed up the healing and rebalancing process while the root causes are being addressed. Without following the fundamentals, supplements will have little benefit, if any.

• thinking the actual causes of your issues can’t be simple and easy to address and must involve extensive testing
• believing the body will rebalance itself after just a week or two of new changes and behaviors
• believing small changes can’t have huge long-lasting impacts

Many don’t want to hear this in the age of quick fixes. But YOU can fix yourself with a little work and help from God.  And my planner lays it all out for you, helping you incorporate changes into sustainable habits. God’s blueprint for health is simple and easy. Why would He make it complicated? Why would He ever want us dependent upon a system that doesn’t have our best interests at heart? 

Simple fundamentals leading to beautifully complex results

Jesus spoke to people in parables to explain complex ideas in easy to understand terms. Our bodies are also wonderfully complex, and God designed us with a very simple maintenance and prevention plan. The fundamentals are the maintenance plan that God designed. These concepts may seem simple, but their effects on the body are beautifully complex. Think of them as health parables. Basic tenets to follow that pay off big time for your health.