Hi, I’m valerie peli.
The Nutritional Therapy Practitioner behind The Functional Health Nest but also mom to 3 kids, wife, book nerd, craft dabbler, gardener of sorts, cat collector, and honored companion of Bob the dog. Truth be told, I am for sure an introvert. I promise you that I will have a very mild panic attack before our first call. Meeting new people has always been a little scary to me. Kinda funny considering I have worked in the restaurant industry for many years basically meeting new people everyday. My version of thrill seeking? Actually that’s as much of a thrill seeker as I get! You won’t see me jumping out of planes, driving a racecar, or anything else along those lines. A nice, quiet, happy life is more my cup of tea. I much prefer finding joy in the small everyday moments because I believe they’re the big things in the long run. There you go! Me in a brief nutshell.
Professional background
The path to nutritional therapy
How did I go from what you’ve just read to Nutritional Therapy Practitioner? Valid and important question. The answer to that has us going back to when I was a teenager as a Nutrition/Dietetics major at Seton Hill University. Having grown up in a family that enjoyed being in the kitchen, grew a garden, and was generally health minded, my interest in nutrition started early on.
College Years
I spent 3 years at Seton Hill and then moved on to graduating from culinary school. In the years after, the main focus was raising my children rather than building a career. Instead I contributed to our family’s income by waiting tables, running a bakery from our garage (are you shocked?), and helping my husband run a construction company. However, my focus went back to nutrition in 2017 when my husband Tom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
A Shift
The only option given to us by conventional/allopathic doctors was, “Take this pill and come back when it stops working.” We chose to look further which led to me taking a deep dive into how changing nutrition and lifestyle could help. I was genuinely angry to find that the nutrition education I received in college was, in many respects, absolutely wrong. The biggest red flag - it was based on the Food Pyramid. The information I gathered in the alternative medicine world transformed our lives. We went from having no hope about Tom’s prognosis to having a path to follow with light at the end. That’s when I started feeling the tug of wanting to teach others about what I had learned.
Changes
With the changes we made to our diet and lifestyle, Tom has been able to manage symptoms without medication. A huge accomplishment and relief! I experienced significant health wins as well. Eczema I had battled since middle school cleared up and I stopped feeling bloated and gassy after eating. These were issues I had considered normal all those years only to find that they were likely a result of gut issues. Had I only known sooner! Again, I wanted to share this hope with other people so they wouldn’t have to suffer unnecessarily.
Learning a New Way
Having already experienced the traditional college education in nutrition, I knew I wanted something different. After much research and debate, I felt confident in completing a program run by the Nutritional Therapy Association. Their holistic approach to nutrition with an emphasis on nutrient dense whole foods, bio-individuality, and supporting the body’s foundational systems aligned perfectly with my new approach to supporting health. I graduated in 2022 and have continued to educate myself by completing other programs. Most recently I completed a course about Functional Blood Chemistry. An absolutely fascinating topic!
So yes, that was long winded for sure but I wanted you to understand what has given me the knowledge and experience to help you on your path. I’m excited and ready to take your hand as you begin. It will take work and it likely won’t be easy but giving this gift of change to yourself will be worth it.
