About Me

Hi! My name is Theresa, and I’m so glad you’re here.

I started The Joy in Health because I wanted a place to gather the information I’ve spent years learning—information I want my daughter and my son to have, and information I want to be able to come back to myself as I continue working toward better health.

My health journey really began almost 30 years ago, when I became pregnant with my first child.

Suddenly, my health mattered in a completely different way. It wasn’t just about me anymore. The choices I made affected someone I loved more than myself, and for the first time I began thinking about health on a much deeper level.

At the time, I was a cigarette smoker. I should have quit when I became pregnant.

I didn’t.

Looking back now, that is almost unbelievable to me. But I was a junkie and it takes a lot for a junkie to quit. It took me longer to quit than I wish it had.

I did quit eventually, by the way.

And somewhere along the way, I became fascinated with health.

Over the years, I have spent thousands of hours reading, studying, researching, experimenting, questioning, and gathering information. I completed a two-year course to become a certified herbalist. I have experimented on myself and my family. I have listened to and learned from many doctors, researchers, herbalists, nutrition professionals, practitioners, and other people who have far more formal education than I do.

And I have learned a ton.

But one of the most important things I have learned is this:

I know my body better than anyone else—and you know yours better than anyone else.

I have learned that many physicians receive surprisingly little education in nutrition.

I have learned that healthcare often looks at the body in separate pieces rather than as one interconnected whole—and that the mental, emotional, environmental, and spiritual parts of health are often overlooked.

I have learned that government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, the medical industry, and other large institutions are not as trustworthy as they would like us to believe.

I have learned that each of us has a tremendous responsibility to think critically, ask questions, investigate for ourselves, and take an active role in the decisions that affect our health.

But I have also learned that there are incredible people in the health world—people who are knowledgeable, thoughtful, trustworthy, curious, and genuinely want what is best for the people they serve.

So here I am.

I have some formal training, a boatload of self-taught learning, nearly three decades of curiosity, and a very long list of things I still want to understand.

The Joy in Health is where I share what I’ve learned, what I’m still learning, what I’m trying, and what I think is worth taking a closer look at.

Some of it is practical.

Some of it is traditional.

Some of it challenges what we’ve been told.

And some of it is absolutely mind-blowing.

My hope is that what you find here encourages you to become curious about your own health, ask better questions, and feel more confident taking an active role in the health of yourself and your family.