Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Fox.
Hi Valerie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my career in nutrition after completing a degree at UT Knoxville and a year long internship with Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2005-2006. After working at a hospital in the area for 4 years, I decided to venture out internationally doing nutrition and trauma relief work for earthquake victims. In that time, I became ill which lasted for 7 years. Initially my treatment was with allopathic doctors but then it became clear I needed additional help from the integrative world. While working to be free from illness physically, I decided to address my emotional and spiritual health. Through a series of events, I was able to become well and have been so for the past seven years.
During my time of illness, I became a certified GAPS practitioner. The GAPS diet was one of the ways my health began to improve. GAPS stands for Gut and Psychological Syndrome. The focus is on healing and sealing the lining of the gut, ultimately addressing the gut/brain connection. The GAPS methodologies are most often used to benefit individuals with bowel issues, auto-immune diseases, and psychological needs.
One of the people I met early on during my healing journey became my best friend. We walked with each other through years of not knowing when or if freedom from illness would come. In 2023, this friend became so physically ill she was fighting for her life at a local hospital. During her admission, I became heavily involved networking with other doctors I knew and working tirelessly to find a way she could become stable enough to go home. After a late night at the hospital, I recalled a name of a doctor in the Washington DC area someone had mentioned to me previously in the week. I called his office the next day and against all odds he took her case. Within a day of her taking the medications he suggested she was eating and able to go home after a 20 day hospital stay where she could not eat food or swallow water without her mouth swelling. It was miraculous! This started a journey of changing the direction of my career to also include caring for people with CIRS.
CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) is a condition triggered by bio-toxins, mainly mold and Lyme disease, capable of causing a myriad of symptoms including chronic fatigue, cognitive issues, inflammation, neurological deficits, leaky gut, and other organ-specific symptoms. This illness can be absolutely devastating and involves multi-organ systems. There is a genetic component to CIRS and 25% of our population can be at risk for this illness if their innate immune system is triggered from a bio-toxin illness.
After working full-time in dialysis kidney care for 10 years while seeing private patients, I decided to began a new journey working with CIRS patients in addition to people who deal with gut, auto-immune diseases, and chronic kidney disease of all stages. Kidney disease can affect people of any age with virtually no symptoms. Diet is proven to slow progression of kidney disease and prevent need for renal replacement therapy. My passion is to be a bridge between allopathy and integrative care as I believe we can work together to provide hope and freedom from illness for patients.
I am currently working with Dr Emily Cleveland, ND, at Docere Functional Health. We work together as a team to address the root cause of illness using a wide range of testing and myriad of evidenced based methods. You can make an appointment with me via phone, e-mail or through this website at https://www.docerefunctionalhealth.com/. I also have my own private practice you can learn more about through my website at https://valeriefoxnutrition.com/. Of note, I can see patients all across the state of Tennessee.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road to where I am now has been an extremely difficult one but I am incredibly thankful. I know first hand the emotional and physical roller coaster of chronic illness. Because I was sick young and previously very active, my journey came with debilitating grief. The joy of life was hard to come by as the years went on and affected others around me as well. Finding an identity outside of sickness and asking for help was a challenge for me. This journey of becoming whole mentally, physically, and emotionally informs every area of my life and I am a much better practitioner because of it. I think the greatest gift I can give is hope and that I’m sure of.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a certified GAPS practitioner and CIRS advocate with 20 years of medical and holistic experience as a Registered Dietitian, Lisenced Nutritionist. CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) is a condition triggered by bio-toxins, mainly mold and Lyme disease, capable of causing a myriad of symptoms including chronic fatigue, cognitive issues, inflammation, neurological deficits, leaky gut, and other organ-specific symptoms. GAPS (Gut and Psychological Syndrome) focuses on healing and sealing the lining of the gut ultimately addressing the gut/brain connection. The GAPS methodologies are most often used to benefit individuals with various bowel and psychological issues.
My specialties also include kidney disease as well as dialysis care and integrative health private practice. I commonly see patients with chronic or end stage kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes, IBS, Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, celiac, leaky gut, eczema, autoimmune disorders, ADHD, Lyme disease, and CIRS.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I would say the whole direction of my career has been divine. Both my personal and professional journey have led me to this current place in my life equipping me to guide others through complex illness. Even during my time as a student at UT and Vanderbilt 20 years ago, my primary studies included genetics and auto-immune gastrointestinal disease not knowing at the time how this was preparing me for the present.
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