Life is marked by transitions—some expected, others abrupt. New roles, shifting hormones, changing responsibilities, and evolving priorities all ask something different of our bodies. At Tendwell, we see these transitions not as problems to fix, but as invitations to listen more closely to what your body needs now.
GLP-1 medications can be a powerful and supportive tool for weight loss and metabolic health. But like any tool, how you use it matters. At Tendwell, we focus on helping you lose weight in a way that protects your muscle, supports your metabolism, and sets you up for long-term health—not just short-term results on the scale.
When we talk about menopause, we often focus on hot flashes, sleep disruption, or weight changes. But there’s another category of symptoms that deserves far more attention: mood changes.
If you struggle with falling asleep—or staying asleep—there’s a surprisingly simple habit that may help: wearing socks at night. It sounds almost too easy, but this small change can support one of the most important drivers of good sleep: healthy temperature regulation.
Protein is one of the most powerful—and most under-consumed—nutrients I see in clinical practice. Adequate protein intake supports blood sugar balance, muscle and bone health, hormone production, detoxification pathways, immune function, and satiety, especially for women navigating perimenopause, menopause, or metabolic health concerns.
At Tendwell, we talk a lot about the gut—and for good reason. Your gut is not just about digestion. It’s central to immune function, hormone balance, brain health, and inflammation throughout the body. One of my favorite tools for getting a truly comprehensive picture of gut health is Vibrant Wellness’s Gut Zoomer 3.0.
There’s no single “right” way to do a cleanse, and the word itself often means very different things to different people. For some, it brings to mind water fasting (my sister-in-law immediately thinks of this!). But starving your way through a fast—only to regain weight or feel depleted afterward—isn’t my idea of an effective or sustainable cleanse. Others think of juice-only programs, which can send a surge of natural sugar straight into your system without offering much in the way of real detox support.
As women move through perimenopause and menopause, one of the most common changes we see on lab work is a noticeable rise in cholesterol levels—sometimes for the first time in a woman’s life. This shift can feel surprising or concerning, but it’s actually a well-documented and physiologically understandable part of the menopausal transition.
As estrogen levels begin to fluctuate and drift downward in perimenopause, many women notice changes they didn’t expect—more irritation, new (or recurrent) yeast infections, increased discharge, or episodes of bacterial vaginosis (BV) that feel out of nowhere. These symptoms can be frustrating, uncomfortable, and often surprising, especially for women who never struggled with vaginal health before.
Wondering if GLP-1 medications affect egg freezing or fertility? Tendwell Functional Medicine in Denver offers personalized fertility optimization, metabolic support, and hormone balancing to prepare your body for IVF and pregnancy.
Anyone who’s ever started a business has probably been told to define their “ideal client.” When I first launched my functional medicine practice, that concept felt foreign — even uncomfortable. I mean, I’m a people person. I like everyone. I find challenging personalities interesting. I didn’t want to exclude anyone. I’m here to help.
At Tendwell, our Institute for Functional Medicine Certified practitioners take a root-cause, personalized approach. We also blend in Integrative medicine. You may be wondering what the differences are between the two approaches. While they are very similar, there are some differences. Taking as a case study, the general approach that might be taken to address perimenopause, this blog explains the similarities and differences in the two approaches.
Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down to chat with Dr. Isabelle Amigues, an integrative rheumatologist here in Denver, CO. She and I bonded over collaborative care, past lives in New York City, raising kids in this complicated world and, of course, holistic approaches to patient care.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Kate Salama, an integrative psychiatrist practicing here in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Salama and I share similar views about how taking a holistic approach to health care is desperately needed in our modern, broken system. Functional medicine doctors and your Tendwell providers do a great job of treating the whole person to promote relief from chronic illness and improved well-being across many domains, physical as well as mental. But sometimes patients need a sharper and deeper focus on the mental and emotional aspects of health. In those cases your care team should include an integrative psychiatrist, like Dr. Salama.
If you’re thinking about adding functional health to your conventional or traditional health care, it’s great to know how integrative and functional health differ from conventional health.