functional nutritional therapy practitioner and independent health researcher

Travis Harris, FNTP

Growing up I thought it was normal to have stomach aches, nausea, and IBS symptoms on a regular basis because many others in my family experienced these things as well.  A few years ago, I was dealing with a myriad of health issues: prediabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, nausea, hypoglycemia, back pain, anxiety, and panic attacks.  One day after nearly passing out standing in line at a Mexican restaurant from severely low blood sugar, I decided enough was enough and it was about time I started to pay attention to all the warning signs my body was giving me that something wasn’t working.  I started researching anti-inflammatory diets and ultimately down the rabbit holes of paleo, keto, carnivore, and the works of Weston A. Price, Aajonus Vonderplanitz, and Raymond Peat, PhD. I was working in a woodshop at the time and listened to a few thousand hours of nutrition podcasts, consuming as much knowledge and personal anecdotes as I possibly could. Initially my diet experiments were incredibly helpful in addressing most of my issues, however I began developing more and more food intolerances and sleep issues.   

 
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Investing in my health and the health of my family was one of the most rewarding and worthwhile pursuits…

When my wife and I discovered she was pregnant, I took an even deeper dive into nutritional research to discover how to optimize a healthy pregnancy and a growing baby. I decided that investing in my health and the health of my family was one of the most rewarding and worthwhile pursuits. Not only did we get our healthy, happy baby, but this also led to the discovery of a way of eating and a lifestyle that has restored my digestion, eliminated brain fog, ensured quality sleep, stabilized my mood and energy, broadened my list of “safe” foods, and has me consistently feeling equipped to handle any other life stressors. I want to help you experience the same. I’ll help you learn how the body works and what it needs and show you how you can eat delicious foods that fully support your body without the pain and ups and downs of restrictive dieting.  Whether you’re just getting started on your health journey, or have come to a dead end, it helps to have someone in your corner with personal experience and dedication to discovering your unique needs and a path forward toward feeling your best.

What is Nutritional Therapy?

Nutritional Therapy centers on the idea that real health can be achieved through a holistic and bio-individual approach to nutrition and lifestyle.


A Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner…

takes a foundational, holistic approach to wellness that focuses on the importance of a properly prepared, nutrient-dense, whole food diet paired with a well-balanced lifestyle. They understand the importance of honoring the body’s own feedback system and its incredible capacity to restore, regenerate, and correct itself — when given the tools and nutrients to do so.

What is a metabolic approach to nutritional therapy?

The field of nutrition is fraught with inconsistencies and completely contradictory opinions. At a high level, these vast differences can be attributed to the argument of how metabolism affects aging. There are two main approaches to understanding metabolism: the rate of living theory, and the bio-energetic theory. The rate of living theory postulates that the faster an organism's metabolism, the shorter its lifespan. The bio-energetic theory proposes that a high metabolic rate allows for the constant renewal of the organism; the more energy flowing through the structure, the stronger the structure.

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Diet culture, including many therapeutic diets, is almost entirely based off the rate of living theory through its emphasis on chronic caloric restriction as the primary method of weight loss and longevity. Chronic caloric restriction suppresses the thyroid and decreases the metabolic rate resulting in people having to eat fewer and fewer calories to lose or maintain body weight. A metabolic approach to nutritional therapy means we will be increasing the metabolic rate, through diet and lifestyle interventions, while pumping the body full of delicious, nutrient dense foods allowing for the regeneration and optimal function of the entire body. A high metabolic rate combined with a nutrient dense diet renews both the structure and function of the body. This is the kind of lifestyle that results in flawless digestion, balanced energy and hormones, mental clarity, and increased stress resilience.

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flawless digestion, balanced energy and hormones, mental clarity, and increased stress resilience

 

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Discover your path toward optimal health.

🍦 Real ice cream can be an amazing bedtime snack. 🩸 The liver stores about 100 grams of glucose called glycogen to maintain blood sugar homeostasis. 🚨 Many people wake up around 3 am every night because of an adrenaline response in the middle of
🦴 Calcium is required for bone, heart, muscle, nerve, and mitochondrial health.  Some studies suggest it is even protective against high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer.   🥬 You’ve maybe heard people talk about the acid-base ba
🔆 When I backed myself into a corner with seemingly no more “safe” foods left to eat, I discovered the power of homemade marshmallows. 🍯 They’re essentially just gelatin, water, and honey (or maple syrup or cane sugar). 🍖 Gela
😾 This may be frustrating for some, but there is no single pro-metabolic or bioenergetic diet.  What improves metabolism for 1 person can have the opposite effect for another.  There’s a handful of us talking about very similar thing
🌡 To expound a little further on the warm hands and feet club, another easily accessible health metric is body temperature and pulse.   🤸 I’ve talked to a lot of people who are eating “pro-metabolic” but not checking in with
✨ The parasympathetic (rest and digest) state is the healing state that undoes the damage wrought by the sympathetic (fight or flight) state. 🩸 The parasympathetic state increases blood flow while lowering blood pressure.   🙌 You’ll kno
🥭 Easily digestible carbohydrates support energy production and a healthy metabolism.    🥖 When I say eat carbs, I don’t mean eat a box of goldfish, or a giant plate of spaghetti, or unlimited breadsticks from Olive Garden—obv
⚡️Bioenergetics is a field in biochemistry and cell biology that concerns energy flow through living systems.   💥 The reason some of my recommendations may sound counter to a lot of standard and pop-nutrition advice is because there are two opp
🏂 Physiology affects personality.  Chronic pain, fatigue, and gastrointestinal distress kept me from fully engaging with life the way I wanted. Falling down the rabbit holes of increasingly restrictive dieting only led to further alienation.&n
💥 Glucose is the primary and preferred energy source of our cells.  Fat is great, but “using fat for fuel” is using the backup generator and breaks down the thymus gland, liver, and muscle tissue. Being in a perpetual state of catab