Meet Nancy L. Pickens RN, MS – Nutritional Counseling
Nancy Pickens
Nancy chose to become a registered nurse due to her interest in healing and a desire to help people understand their health problems. Her mother’s work as a public health nurse and her father’s disability related to back surgery were very instrumental in her decision to enter nursing school at the University of Michigan. Nancy also suffered from severe allergies and asthma / respiratory infections beginning at a young age and was hopeful she would find an answer to improve her health. The answer was not what she expected, but came when she met her future husband, Mike Pickens, who introduced her to alternative medicine and chiropractic care.
Nancy graduated Summa Cum Laude from U of M in 1981, and began her nursing career in Atlanta, Georgia after moving to be with her husband during chiropractic college. Over the years, Nancy has worked at various nursing positions including medical surgical floors, adult ICU, neonatal ICU, and labor and delivery/ postpartum units. However, Nancy’s main nursing career ( 1991-2018) was as a wound, ostomy, and continence nurse (CWOCN nurse); eventually becoming a consultant for a local hospice organization. Her extensive insight into chronic illnesses and how they relate to nutrition and gut health has been a life-long journey.
Her pursuit of nutrition as a second career was a gradual process that developed while investigating her son’s health problems and her own affliction with chronic sinusitis. Nancy and Dr. Pickens middle son, Jason, was underweight as an infant with frequent diarrhea, and at age 2 ½ was diagnosed with celiac disease. Unfortunately, the couple’s oldest son Nate, already had been diagnosed with an allergy to corn. This forced Nancy to read all food labels and to become an expert at preparing gluten-free and corn-free meals. Unfortunately, Jason did not improve on a gluten-free diet as expected and at age 4 developed a serious illness that included painful, swollen joints that the medical profession was unable to diagnosis.
Frustrated with the lack of answers from 3 prominent hospitals, Nancy took her son to an alternative nutrition practitioner that outlined a program to regain his health which included fresh goat’s milk and nutritional supplements. Slowly Jason improved with less infections and a gain in body weight. Through Nancy’s own research, it became apparent that much of her family’s health problems could be linked to the devitalized, processed foods that they were consuming – even though these food items were included only on a minimal basis! The transformation of the family’s diet was gradual and over time Nancy’s asthma resolved and her sinus infections were reduced to only one bout a year instead of a daily problem. Her experience with chronically ill wound and ulcerative colitis patients in the hospital also added to her drive to make a difference in promoting whole food nutrition.
Nancy decided to formally pursue her passion and enrolled in the University of Bridgeport’s masters program in human nutrition, graduating May of 2009 with a GPA of 3.99.
FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE NUTRITION APPROACH
A functional medicine approach is used to investigate why Nancy’s clients are suffering a particular health complaint. A detailed health / lifestyle history and a 7 day diet journal are reviewed and appropriate functional medicine tests are prescribed: digestive stool test, cardiac / metabolic blood analysis; urine tests for toxic chemicals, molds, organic acids; salivary hormone testing; and hair analysis. Using whole food nutrition (Blue Zone philosophy), lifestyle changes, and targeted supplements, Nancy then develops an individualized treatment plan to bring the body back into balance with a goal of reversing the chronic health issue. Nutritional reflex technique (NRT) is also used to further enhance the individual’s program. Nancy works with clients with many health concerns, including digestive disorders, memory loss, diabetes, high cholesterol, food allergies, chronic fatigue, PCOS, infertility and other hormonal issues. A willingness to take responsibility for one’s health is critical for long-term success and Nancy is passionate about providing her client’s with educational material and resources that will empower them to regain their vitality!
Currently, Nancy provides functional nutritional counseling at ABA Family Chiropractic Holistic Health Center on Mon-Tues-Fri.
