Why You Should Choose Me
About Shannon
Empowering Your Health Journey with Personalized Functional Medicine
Welcome!
Shannon Goins-Blair is a highly trained Functional Medicine Coach, Integrative Health Practitioner, and LANA-Certified Lymphedema Therapist (CLT-LANA) based outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her extensive training includes over 2200 hours of education in various therapeutic modalities such as Functional Medicine, Integrative Health, and Lymphedema Therapy.
Appearances Can be Deceiving
“I wasn’t always as healthy as I am today, but many people see me and think that my parents must have raised me on nothing but kale and broccoli. Nothing could be further from the truth. Growing up in the South, I was surrounded by the comforts of a traditional Southern diet—delicious but often heavy on fried foods, sugar, and processed ingredients.
As one would expect, this diet led me to being overweight and in a poor state of health. Over time, I began to feel the effects of those habits, struggling with fatigue, pain, and other seemingly mysterious health challenges.
It wasn’t until I started exploring functional medicine and holistic wellness that I truly understood how food and lifestyle impact overall health. Now, I’m passionate about helping others break free from unhealthy cycles and find balance through personalized, whole-body approaches to wellness.”
My Own Struggle with A Mysterious Invisible Illness
Ignored and Dismissed
As a child, I often complained of invisible symptoms, including fatigue, widespread body aches, and gut issues. Since these were not visible, I was told that I was “fine.”
As an adult, I continued to seek out medical help for these issues which were getting worse by the year. My doctors often dismissed my complaints as “all in your head” and told me that it was “all psychological.”
Despite my efforts to discover the cause of my ailments, I got no answers. The condition continued to worsen until one day, it was so bad that I couldn’t sign a check because of the excruciating pain. It was here that my real journey to find the cause began.
A Personal Journey to Healing
Discovering the Root Cause
After numerous consultations and a misdiagnosis of fibromyalgia, I explored alternative approaches, including dietary changes to address food sensitivities. While these adjustments provided some relief, new symptoms emerged, leading me to functional medicine.
Through comprehensive evaluations, I finally received an accurate diagnosis (in my late 40’s), uncovering underlying issues that had been overlooked for decades.
Armed with a diagnosis, I delved deeper to understand the root causes of my condition. A diagnosis is no more than a sign post telling you what is being affected. It is still necessary to find and remedy the causes leading to the diagnosed condition.
Addressing factors like leaky gut, mold exposure, and heavy metal toxicity required time and persistence. With each step, I experienced significant improvements, transforming my health and daily life.
A Clean Diet Wasn’t Enough
“I had so many things wrong with me all at the same time that it was the proverbial situation of not being able to see the forest for the trees.
I had been on a super clean diet for years. I thought that was enough.
It wasn’t. There was so much more to do to regain my health.
As I cleared up leaky gut, mold, heavy metals, and so forth, I just started feeling better. While some days or weeks were better than others, eventually, I had enough improvement that the feeling better became my normal state of being.
Despite being thrilled with finally having not only better, but a great state of health, I was still left with questions:
- ‘Why did it take seeing so many practitioners over so many decades to find my answer?
- If these causes (mold, heavy metals, etc.) are real (which I didn’t believe at first), why don’t more people, specifically my doctors, know about how to look for them and how to treat them?’
It turns out that there actually were people who could help me, but I had been relying on conventional medicine. While well-meaning, conventional medicine doctors were ineffective and were only interested in giving me medications to cover up my symptoms.
They were not trained in, nor did they care about the ‘why’ behind my mystery illness.
It took me a very long time to find the right person who could help – a functional medicine health coach.
After finally getting my own health back, I decided to put my hard-earned knowledge to use to help others who, like me, were struggling to find answers.
So, I went to school to study functional medicine myself.”
– Shannon Goins-Blair
What Makes Me Different:
My Functional Medicine Approach
I believe in a personalized approach to health, focusing on a deep analysis of your symptoms and recommending testing only when appropriate.
Unlike some functional medicine offices that insist you run $5,000 worth of tests before they will talk to you, I talk to you first to hear your story. I want to know what you are going through and how you got to this point.
You may not realize it, but you already know what is wrong with you – you just don’t see the pattern or know what to do to correct it.
By speaking with you at length following a review of your health history, I am able to puzzle out the factors that are causing your issues. From there I can design a customized health plan that will put you on the right path to getting your health back.
People often ask if I can order lab testing. Yes! You can also do it yourself, if you are someone who wants as much data as you can get, by visiting my online lab testing page.
Lab data is great to have. Sometimes it can help to figure out fine details of a condition. However, testing isn’t the be-all-end-all in figuring out what is wrong. It is only one piece of a much, much bigger health puzzle. So, if your budget doesn’t allow for running functional labs, that is fine.
If you have labs from your regular doc, we can use those instead. A LOT gets overlooked by conventional medicine practitioners.
There are subtle patterns in the data that require an eye trained in the functional medicine approach. I know how to interpret labs from a functional medicine standpoint.
Client Testimonials
Here are some experiences shared by clients who have embarked on their health journeys with me:
- “Before working with Shannon, I struggled with chronic fatigue and digestive issues. Her personalized approach uncovered underlying causes that traditional medicine overlooked. Now, I feel more energetic and healthier than ever.”
– Sarah T. - “Shannon’s guidance transformed my health. Her focus on addressing root causes rather than just symptoms made all the difference. I’m grateful for her compassionate and thorough care.”
– Michael R. - “I had seen multiple practitioners without success before finding Shannon. Her holistic approach and dedication to understanding my unique health challenges led to significant improvements in my well-being.”
– Emily L.
Services I Offer
I provide a range of services tailored to your unique health needs as part of my functional medicine coaching system, including: Functional Medicine Consultations, Nutritional Counseling, Functional Medicine Testing, Personalized Wellness Plans, Lifestyle Interventions, Gut Health Optimization, Detoxification Support, Stress Management Strategies, Supplement Guidance, and Self-Care Education.
Commit to Yourself and Your Health Today.
Further Reading: Functional Medicine
- The Process: A Personalized Approach to Functional Medicine
- Your Doctor Doesn’t Have Time For You – How I Can Help
- What is a Functional Medicine Coach, and Why Should You Hire One?
- What Can a Functional Medicine Coach Do?
- Functional Medicine and Finding the Root Cause
- What is a Consultation Like with a Functional Medicine Coach?
- Functional Medicine FAQ’s
- Functional Medicine vs. Conventional Medicine
- The Power of Functional Medicine Coaches