It's Your Health

11/19/2025

Mitochondrial Health....

11/19/2025

Neuroplasticity....

Reprogram your mind, one thought at a time. Every thought you repeat creates a neural groove. Negative thinking literally strengthens stress pathways in your brain, keeping you stuck in patterns of anxiety, worry, or fear.

The good news? Your brain can unlearn these habits. Neuroplasticity allows you to reshape mental patterns through awareness, focus, and consistent repetition. Each time you choose calm over chaos, gratitude over guilt, or purpose over fear, you are literally teaching your brain a new language.

This isn’t motivation, it’s biology. Your thoughts sculpt your neural pathways, meaning every intentional choice strengthens the patterns you want and weakens the ones you don’t. Over time, consistent practice rewires your brain, reshapes your focus, and transforms your mindset.

🧠 Consistency rewires.
🧠 Focus reshapes.
🧠 Intention transforms.

The power to change your mental patterns isn’t a mystery. It’s science, and it’s 100% in your control. Every small shift in thinking is a step toward a stronger, calmer, and more resilient mind.

11/19/2025

Check out this video.

Learn the Truth on Both Sides of a Topic

Some people NEED medication
Some people DON'T NEED medication.

Some people NEED BOTH prescription medication and uses ALL of God's Medical Therapies.

I am NOT anti-medication.
I am DO WHAT is Best for you.

Make knowledgeable informed choices and don't try something that could harm you.

We are each different and unique individuals.

These differences go all the way down to our genetics, epigenetics, and microbiome.

GLP-1 medications are beneficial for some patients. They were never designed to be prescribed for ALL patients. GLP-1 medications are an amino-acid-ling peptide hormone. The natural hormone that targets this pathway inside the body was originally found in the 1980's through studies on a precursor molecule called proglucagon. A breakthrough came in the 90's. This led to the development of the first drug, exenatide (Byetta) by creating a synthetic version of exendin-4. This medication was placed on the market in 2005. IThis breakthrough led to the development of the drugs we have available today.

If you need rapid improvement to save your life, please talk to your doctor, pray about it, and listen to God. Block out all of the haters.

If you don't need rapid intervention, consider all of your options and make a decision that is best for you. Don't listen to the haters. It's your body. It's Your Health and you don't have to be on the medication forever if you're willing to make lifestyle changes.

If your risk for complications are low then take the hard path. Make the hard lifestyle changes. Look for alternative and natural options

No matter what category you fall in please find someone who will support you no matter which path you need to travel.

11/19/2025

Autism... A complicated diagnosis where if we dig deeper there are "outside of the box" things natural, holistic, functional, and Integrative Medicine can do to help. In fact, 1 in 5 kids diagnosed with autism, ADHD, or other neurodivergent condition MAY be misdiagnosed.

# 3 was me as a child.
Today I know I am highly intelligent, commonly seen with high functioning autism. I don't have autism. I have a rare mitochondrial Encephalopathy as does my son.

Medication can help with severe symptoms and are sometimes necessary. Other times medication isn't the best solution. My son and I both take seizure medication. However this only manages symptoms and medications for our condition are known to quit working eventually. Thankfully my son has been on the same medication since receiving his diagnosis.

The best thing we can do is Arm ourselves with knowledge. Find someone willing to help us understand our condition and look upstream trying to find the underlying Root Cause of our condition. For my family it boils down to our genetics. Epigenetics shows we can switch genes on and off. The microbiome is essential for maintaining health and wellness.

I am so grateful for the advice my father gave me as a child. He said, "knowledge is power and it is the one thing no one can take from you. Never stop learning and share that knowledge with others."

My family has a long complicated health history. My son suffered from autistic behaviors, symptoms of ADHD, and symptoms concerning for PANDAS. Everytime he became ill his symptoms worsened.

Today I know I have a mitochondrial Encephalopathy in which only about 100 other people have. My son has two rare recessive Encephalopathy epilepsy genes. His condition is commonly MISDIAGNOSED as ADHD or autism. He suffered a brain injury because his condition went undiagnosed and untreated for years. Neurology wouldn't listen to me. They refused to perform genetic testing and wanted to watch and wait. Instead I took action, started him on the right cocktail of supplements, and managed his condition until he developed symptoms concerning for PANDAS. I realized I may be treating this on my own. I took him off of his supplements and at last, he had an abnormal EEG and received a diagnosis of epilepsy.

I am so Thankful God brought me into medicine as the daughter of a firefighter. I started by learning how to communicate with people. I was led into the nursing home and learned we all have a story. My grandpa becoming ill took me into nursing. God knew he had bigger plans for me and drug me back to school to became a nurse practitioner.

Today I also have a Master's of Science in Nursing, Nursing Education degree. I use all of my knowledge to teach my health coaching clients how to heal their body from the inside out. I teach them how to go to their doctor to get the testing they need. I teach my patients on how to dig deep into their symptoms by looking upstream.

If we can find where the dysfunction within the body is located, find what nutritional deficiencies we are suffering from, and work upstream to fix those deficiencies we can heal the body.

The two Encephalopathy epilepsy genes my son has are rare. I thought they were bad. The Truth is the one I have is worse. They (traditional medicine) says there is no cure, this is progressive, and I'm sorry there is nothing we can do for you. I know as a Functional, Integrative, and Holistic Medicine Health Coach they may not be able to do anything for me BUT I can. I've been treating this all my life by adjusting the nutrients my body needs in order to support the condition I have.

My story, my daughter's story, and my son's story is why I do what I do today

If your doctors are not listening to you please check out my website and make a trip to see me. I'll do my best to make it worth your time. I have over twenty years of outside of the box thinking medical care thinking. I love puzzles and finding the missing piece 🧩 is my primary focus.

The body is designed to heal. God made us perfect unfortunately sometimes our life or that of generations before affect us at the cellular level. The body will heal when we remove what is harming us and add what is depleted or abundantly high.

Check me out at...

Learning to Live Healthier

11/19/2025

Gene switching....

It has been a huge topic in the functional medicine world for a long time. Functional Medicine has shown that if we look upstream at how the body functions deep within we can flip a switch, how disease presents itself. By looking upstream we are also able to flip a switch to turn off certain diseases. These switches can be turned on and off by using specific herbs, supplements, and essential nutrients.

Now the University of Kentucky researchers have developed a new experimental model that could point the way toward more effective Alzheimer's disease treatments by targeting one of the brain's most important genes for risk and resilience.

Traditional Medicine dismisses natural medicine or any medicine that has been used because of the test of time. Today we are in one of the greatest paradigm shifts for "healthcare" because what's been done for years especially the past three decades is being proven by research WHY it's effective.

University of Kentucky researchers have developed a new experimental model that could point the way toward more effective Alzheimer's disease treatments by targeting one of the brain's most important genes for risk and resilience.

11/03/2025

-----New Research Shows Why Athletes Should Take Probiotics-----
Recent research is discovering an unexpected relationship between exercise and gut health. If you are an athlete, or you workout, taking probiotics may improve your athletic performance and your health.

Exercise is good for you. So, it is no surprise that it is good for your gut microbiota, the microorganisms, friendly and unfriendly, in your gut. But high intensity and endurance exercise can have a negative effect on the intestinal microbiota that can lead to GI symptoms, psychological symptoms and poorer athletic performance.

Probiotics improve your gut microbiota and have been shown to correct negative changes in the gut caused by exercise and to improve endurance performance in athletes.

This just published double-blind study gave 19 marathon runners either a placebo or a probiotic supplement containing Lactobacillus
acidophilus and Bifidobacterium longum for 5 weeks.

They all ran the 12 minute Cooper Running/Walking test before and after. The test measures aerobic endurance and cardiovascular and physical fitness. It is a good predictor of long term health.

After 5 weeks, the runners who took the probiotics had significant increases in total distance in the 12 minute Cooper test. There was no improvement in the placebo group.

The athletes on probiotics also had significant improvement on the
Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale and on Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index scale.

This intriguing study shows that taking probiotics can significantly improve exercise endurance performance and gastrointestinal health and its related quality of life.

J Exerc Sci Fit. 2024 Oct; 22(4): 297–304.

11/03/2025

Did you know there are toxins in your everyday home products you can easily remove?

Start with Detoxifying your home.

Remove the endocrine disruptors.

Start simple and grow from there.

learningtolivehealthier.com

10/28/2025

If you're going through hell don't give up. You're about to come upon your break through

10/28/2025

Are you looking for a GREAT Book?

Check out the one my health coach is working on.

I would love for you to schedule an appointment with me but let's be honest, scheduling an appointment and getting started with her is cheaper. I like for many of my patients to start with my health coach first. If you're not making improvements or you're complicated (like me) then you can come see me.

Check out appointment options at learningtolivehealthier.com. You have many options to choose from. We are very individualized.

If you would like an appointment with my health coach go ahead and select the appointment option for Amanda Atwood.

🌿 Your Gut Is the Root of Your Health 🌿

Did you know your gut is home to trillions of bacteria that influence everything — your energy, immune system, mood, and even how your body heals? This incredible system is called your microbiome, and when it’s in balance, your whole body thrives. 💪🏼

But here’s the truth our modern healthcare system rarely talks about — instead of teaching us how to nourish and heal from within, we’re often handed medications that simply mask the symptoms.

The reality is… in most cases, healing starts by bringing your gut back into balance. When your microbiome is happy, your mitochondria (your cells’ little powerhouses!) are happy — and that means more energy, less inflammation, and a healthier, more vibrant you.

Let’s break it down 👇🏼

✨ Prebiotics – These are the foods that feed your good gut bacteria. Think of them as fertilizer for your internal garden — garlic, onions, oats, apples, asparagus… all help your microbiome bloom.

✨ Probiotics – The “good guys” themselves! These live bacteria help restore balance and crowd out the bad bacteria. You’ll find them in fermented foods or high-quality supplements.

✨ Postbiotics – The final step — what your gut produces when everything is working in harmony. They strengthen your immune system, reduce inflammation, and help your gut lining stay strong and healthy.

When these three work together, your gut becomes your greatest healing tool. 🌸

At Learning to Live Healthier, our goal is to help you find what works for YOU. Because no two bodies are the same — and your path to health should never be one-size-fits-all.

💚 Let us help you restore balance from the inside out.
💚 Let us help you learn how to truly live healthier.
💚 Let’s work together to support your gut, your energy, and your happiness — naturally.

Your body is capable of incredible healing… it just needs the right support. 🌿

✨ Ready to start your journey toward a healthier, happier you? Reach out today and let’s find your balance together. ✨

10/02/2025

God's in Control even when we are not

My hands can work 💪
My feet can walk 👟
My heart has hope ✨
I am so grateful 💖