Dr. Suzanne Vester

Dr. Suzanne Vester Naturopathic Wellness

11/12/2025

Perfect lab numbers do not always mean you feel well. If your labs look normal but you still feel poorly, you may be chasing the wrong problem.

Ask your provider: If my numbers improve but my symptoms stay the same, what is the plan?

If there is no clear answer, it is time to look deeper. True healing comes from understanding root causes, not just fixing lab values.

11/06/2025

Cravings are messages from your body, not random urges. Before giving in, take a moment to ask yourself a few questions. Am I tired? Thirsty? Bored? Stressed?

Often, your craving has less to do with the food itself and more to do with an underlying need. If you just had ice cream, for example, your taste buds may still crave that sweet flavor until they reset.
The goal is not to ignore your cravings but to understand them. If you still want the food after checking in with yourself, allow it—just in moderation. One scoop, one handful, one small serving.

Your body is always communicating with you. When you slow down and listen, you’ll learn what it truly needs to feel balanced and nourished.

11/06/2025

Unresolved emotions do not stay silent. They often show up in the body—as stress, poor sleep, tension, or fatigue. When your mind is unsettled, your body cannot recover the way it needs to.

The best thing you can do is find someone you trust and unpack your emotions slowly. Just like physical healing, emotional healing takes time and patience.
As you release what you have been holding onto, your body begins to respond.

Sleep improves, energy rises, and stress fades. Healing the mind heals the body.

10/30/2025

When people talk about “optimal health,” it often sounds like there’s one universal definition; perfect labs, ideal weight, no medications, boundless energy. But the truth is, optimal health looks different for everyone.

For one person, it may mean moving freely without pain, sleeping deeply, and staying mentally sharp into old age. For another, it could mean living medication-free and being able to play 18 holes of golf whenever they choose. And for someone else, it might be as simple and beautiful as having the energy to get down on the floor and play with their grandchildren.

There is no single standard for what health “should” look like. It’s deeply personal. My job as a naturopathic doctor is not to dictate what that means for you, it’s to help you define it and then guide you toward it.

When I sit with a patient, I often ask: If nothing stood in your way, what would your picture of health look like? That vision becomes our goalpost. Because real health isn’t about perfection or fitting into someone else’s standard—it’s about aligning your daily habits, mindset, and environment with the life you want to live.

Optimal health is not one-size-fits-all. It’s your version of balance, energy, and peace, and it starts with giving yourself permission to define it for yourself.

10/23/2025

In a world that values instant results, healing asks us to slow down. It reminds us that the body’s natural processes operate on a rhythm of their own, not on our schedules or our impatience. And that’s not a bad thing—it’s a sign of how deeply intelligent and protective your body truly is.

When we give ourselves time to heal, whether from illness, stress, or chronic imbalance, we allow the body to rebuild properly. Real healing is not just about removing symptoms; it’s about restoring balance, replenishing nutrients, repairing tissues, and calming the nervous system. Those things take time because they are meant to last.

The culture of “quick fixes” has taught us to view healing as linear—you do something, you feel better, and you move on. But true healing rarely looks like that. Some days you will feel progress, and others you may feel like you’ve stepped backward. In reality, that ebb and flow is part of the process.

Patience in healing is powerful. It teaches you to listen, to trust, and to honor what your body needs. When you slow down and give it space, your body can do exactly what it was designed to do—heal, adapt, and thrive.

So if you’re in a season of healing right now, take a breath. The waiting is not wasted. It’s where the transformation happens.

10/16/2025

Fasting is one of the simplest, yet most powerful ways to support your body’s natural healing processes. When done safely and intentionally, it allows your body to rest, recover, and redirect energy toward repair rather than digestion.

Think of it this way: digestion is one of your body’s most energy-demanding processes. When you take a break from constant eating, that energy can be used for other important functions like strengthening your immune system, improving tissue repair, and reducing inflammation.

For those struggling with fatigue, recovery after illness, or general immune weakness, fasting can help the body “reset.” It promotes autophagy, a natural process that clears out damaged cells and helps regenerate new, healthier ones. Over time, this can lead to better energy, mental clarity, and a stronger foundation for overall health.

That said, fasting is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is not recommended for everyone, especially those with certain health conditions, hormone imbalances, or blood sugar concerns. But for many, implementing it once or twice a month or even once a week can provide real benefits.

The key is to listen to your body and work with a qualified provider to determine what kind of fasting schedule supports your unique needs.

Your body already knows how to heal. Sometimes, it just needs a little extra space to do the work.

10/15/2025

Your kitchen can be the foundation of your medicine cabinet if you stock it with the right things.

So many foods are marketed as “healthy,” but few of them actually are once you look at how they’re produced. One of the biggest offenders? Oatmeal.

I know that might surprise you. Oatmeal has been praised for decades as the “breakfast of champions.” But the reality is that most oats today are heavily sprayed with chemicals during farming and processing, leaving behind residues that can disrupt your gut, hormones, and overall health. By the time that box reaches your pantry, it’s far from the wholesome food you think it is.

If you’re ready to make one simple, meaningful change to your diet, start there. Remove highly processed, chemically treated foods like conventional oatmeal from your kitchen. Then replace them with natural, nutrient-rich ingredients that truly support your body.

A great place to begin? Your spice rack. Spices like turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, garlic, and oregano aren’t just flavor boosters, they’re filled with natural compounds that reduce inflammation, balance blood sugar, support digestion, and strengthen your immune system.

These small, intentional swaps transform your kitchen into a space of healing rather than harm. Real health starts with what’s already in your home; one ingredient at a time.

10/10/2025

For years, seed oils were marketed as healthy alternatives to animal fats like lard and tallow. They were promoted as “heart healthy” and quickly became staples in processed foods, restaurant cooking, and even many items labeled as “clean” or “natural.”

The reality is more complex. Seed oils—such as canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower, and corn oil—are cheap, widely available, and highly profitable for food manufacturers. That is why they are in almost everything on grocery shelves today. Even foods that seem healthy or are labeled gluten-free or organic often contain them.

But convenience does not equal health. The process of creating these oils involves heavy refining, bleaching, and deodorizing, which strips them of nutrients and leaves behind oxidized fats that can contribute to inflammation and long-term health issues.
That does not mean you have to avoid them completely—life is about balance. Having a snack with seed oils is still likely a better choice than a full fast-food meal. What matters most is awareness and intentionality.

When it comes to nutrition, the closer you can get to the source, the better. The only way to truly know what is in your food is to make it yourself. Cooking at home allows you to control ingredients, choose cleaner oils, and nourish your body without hidden additives.

Health is not about perfection. It is about informed choices and small, consistent shifts. Start by reading labels, understanding what you are consuming, and choosing whole foods whenever possible.

10/06/2025

You have probably heard someone say, “It runs in my family.”

Heart disease, diabetes, obesity, thyroid issues...the list goes on.

But I always ask a simple question: Does it really run in your genes, or does your family just share the same set of habits?

Genetics certainly play a role in how our bodies function. They can make us more prone to certain conditions or determine how we process food, stress, and toxins. But genes are not destiny, they are potential. What turns that potential on or off is largely determined by lifestyle.

If your family has a history of heart disease, take a closer look. Is it truly genetic, or is it linked to years of eating processed foods, chronic stress, and lack of movement? The same can be said for many chronic conditions. Often, it is not your DNA working against you—it is the habits you have inherited.

This is not about blame. It is about empowerment. You have the ability to shift your future by making better choices today. Your genes load the gun, but your lifestyle pulls the trigger.

The truth is, both genetics and environment matter. But using genetics as an excuse to continue unhealthy patterns keeps you stuck. Taking ownership of your health through nutrition, movement, rest, and emotional balance gives you control over how those genes express themselves.

Your body is not your family’s past. It is your opportunity to write a new future.

09/24/2025

If healthcare is supposed to make us healthy, why does so much of it focus only on symptom management?

Pills and quick fixes may quiet discomfort, but they rarely get to the root of the problem. True healthcare should look deeper—at nutrition, lifestyle, stress, rest, and emotional wellbeing.

Health should not be the exception. It should be the goal.

09/16/2025

One of the most overlooked factors in physical health is emotional trauma. When we talk about illness, chronic pain, anxiety, or depression, the focus too often stays only on the physical body.

Providers may not explore emotional history, not because it does not matter, but because they often are not given the tools or training to address it. It is far easier to treat a symptom that shows up on a lab result or exam than to unpack the complex reality of trauma.

The problem is that ignoring emotional trauma is a disservice to long-term healing. Your mind and body are not separate. If your emotions are dysregulated, your central nervous system will also be dysregulated. And when the nervous system is on high alert, the body experiences physical stress, even if no immediate threat is present. Over time, that constant stress burden contributes to chronic illness, mental health struggles, and overall imbalance.
True healing requires looking beyond what is happening physically in the moment.

It means asking harder questions, addressing the whole person, and supporting both the emotional and physical layers of health. Emotional trauma does not disappear just because we ignore it. It shows up in the body, in symptoms, and in the way the nervous system responds to stress.

This is why natural and functional medicine take a more integrative approach. It is not about chasing symptoms but about understanding root causes, including the emotional and mental health components that traditional medicine may not always address.

Healing is not just about the absence of symptoms. It is about restoring regulation, balance, and resilience in both the mind and the body. Only then can true, long-term wellness take place.

09/10/2025

Most doctors order what I call 30,000-foot labs—basic panels like CBC, metabolic, and cholesterol. If those come back “normal,” the conversation usually ends. But normal is not the same as optimal.

Thyroid testing is a perfect example. Many providers only check TSH, but that is just one snapshot. You could have a normal TSH and still feel awful if your body is not making enough active T3 or if too much is converting to reverse T3.

Without deeper labs, you miss the real answers. Functional medicine looks beyond the basics to uncover root causes and give you the full picture of your health.

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