+ Do you work with alternative stuff?

No, I work with nutrition and CLIA-accredited clinical laboratory analyzes. Nutrition science is not alternative - it is biochemistry and biology. That it is still possible today that some doctors consider nutrition to be alternative is due to lack of education and thus insight into nutrition. Human Nutrition is a recognized education today at Universities worldwide incl. Harvard. The fact that it is possible to take "alternative" nutritional educations that lasts from a weekend course to 1 year is another matter - no one gets to be a specialist in that time frame - it takes education, specialization and professional internship. Nutrition is a recognized treatment therapy in the US, Germany and Switzerland, just to name a few of the leading countries in the field of health care.

+ Do you work with functional medicine?

Yes, I work with functional medicine, which includes a dynamic approach to the assessment, prevention and treatment of complex chronic illness that must be seen in addition to conventional treatment. The focus is on identifying dysfunctions in the physiology and biochemistry of the human body as a primary method of improving patient health. Functional medicine is a system-based medicine that is based on discovering the reason why someone has the symptoms they are experiencing, rather than simply treating or suppressing these symptoms.

We go upstream as opposed to focusing on “trickle-down/ downstream symptoms”. We do this to find out what causes and trigger the symptoms the patient is experiencing. Most often, widely differing symptoms, such as digestive and thyroid problems are all linked to similar causative factors which may be e.g. heavy metal poisoning. Symptoms such as fatigue and joint pain may seem independent, but with functional medicine we piece the puzzle together to demonstrate how all of these symptoms can be related to and remedied if we take an integrated approach.

+ What is your background?

I have a 3 1/2 year professional bachelors from Metropolitan University Copenhagen. It is a 3-year bachelor's degree + 1/2 year of internship which I served during a project by Medical Doctor Mikael Bitsch in connection with the writing of my graduate thesis. In addition, I am certified in biological medicine from Paracelsus by Dr. Rau in Switzerland as well as a certified thermography technician from Total Thermal Imaging by Dr. Melvin in the United States and a certified yoga teacher from California. I have over the years taken several courses in plant medicine, functional medicine, laboratory analysis, ayurveda, etc. which can be seen on my linkedin profile. I am American-Danish and interdisciplinary and international cooperation has always been one of the cornerstones of my practice, as I have worked internationally and there have seen the shortcomings when we are unable to cooperate. After all, there is no reason to reinvent in Denmark what has already been invented in the US or Switzerland, for example.

+ What do you do besides treating people?

I give lectures to patient organizations such as Danish cancer organization, Tidslerne, and major business enterprises as well as being used as an international conference speaker. I have been featured in ELLE, Costume, various newspapers and Danish and American online magazines. Clips and pictures from events I have held, and media I have featured in can be seen on my website, click on “Media” or “Events”.

+ Where have you worked with nutrition?

I have worked with celebrities and "Wallstreet wolves" in New York for Dr. Braverman and for Kildehøj Private Hospital in Denmark and collaborated with Dr. Murray Susser in Los Angeles. For the past 7 years, I have focused primarily on my own practice and starting up VitaViva's Health Clinic. In both places I collaborate to analyze laboratory tests and scans with US doctors. This offers the opportunity to offer the multidisciplinary and international approach to health that I am passionate about.

I have worked 7 years in New York and Los Angeles and 8 years in Denmark with tailored nutrition and laboratory analysis from CLIA accredited laboratories.

+ Who is your typical client?

Clients I work with are everything from elite athletes and business leaders who want to optimize their mental and physical performance as well as people with various chronic disorders. My clients come from all over the country also abroad. Often these are people who have been through the health system without results and have reached a point where they want a second opinion as well as causal analysis.

+ What is a typical health check?

A doctor-supervised health check starts from DKK 8750,- / 1200 USD and up depending on how detailed an investigation you want and which analyzes and tests you need. A health check usually includes 2 x 60 minute consultations as well as preparation of your tailor-made treatment program based on your health goals, lifestyle and laboratory results + 15 min. follow-up telephone consultation for clarifying questions. Thereafter, follow-up is necessary to follow development and assess needed changes. This is recommended approx. every 4 months and costs 3850 kr. for a physician-supervised thermography. The goal is to find a balance between budget and what we need to look at in order to create an effective program.

+ How long before you notice results?

It depends on which symptoms you come up with and what the laboratory results say. Generally, 6 months should be considered for minor imbalances and 1-2 years for chronic disorders. However, many people feel better after 3 months, but it is a process. Also considering many need to be working fulltime in the meantime, so the program you are following needs to be a doable in a busy work-life. You get the results you reap, and you can't get a magic pill that gets a high blood pressure issue to disappear for good in 3 weeks - it takes time, but you can have a much better time even long before the laboratory tests are "perfect".

+ Do you work together with doctors?

Yes, I work with my American partners to analyze laboratory tests as well as scans and also have a list of doctors and other therapists I refer to as needed. Doctors are trained in symptom management and medicine (which I am not) that may be needed until the causes of the symptoms are addressed. Doctors are not trained in nutrition and therefore a nutrition overlap is necessary for optimal health care, so that you do not get stuck in symptom treatment. One does not exclude the other and interdisciplinary cooperation leads to the best results.

+ Do you have science-based evidence for the methods you use?

Yes, most of the methods I use are science-based. A few percent of what I do may be based on "simply" positive patient outcomes and experiences from some of the leading international clinics. I prefer relying on clinical science-based references, but recognize that patients' success stories and what works in practice should also be considered. This is how we must deal with it until science catches up with reality.

+ Why have you chosen to work with nutrition?

I have always been interested in causation and how one thing affects another. In biology, the context of nature was logically explained. Nature is mathematically arranged and for every action there is a reaction - the more you understand how to decode this context, the more things make sense and you can find the causes of reactions. How food plays a crucial role in human biochemistry became predominantly clear as I began to take an interest in brain chemistry and the understanding of how our signaling substances are made up of, among other things, amino acids from food. I began to understand how we often treat symptoms rather than causal treatment. This led me to to work for doctors in the United States to immerse myself in how to look for causes instead of managing symptoms. Symptom management in health care has resulted in an epidemic of chronically ill people - regardless of working with nutrition, medicine or other therapies.