Catching Up With Renowned Author, Speaker and Health Consultant Maggie Berghoff
Writer / Renee Larr
Photography Provided
Maggie Berghoff, an extensively trained functional medicine nurse practitioner, author, and serial entrepreneur, is bringing her knowledge and expertise to Westfield residents. The Fort Wayne native recently relocated from Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and children.
Berghoff graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree in medicine, health and society. She also obtained her Master of Science degree at the Vanderbilt School of Nursing. In her early 20s, Berghoff experienced symptoms she calls “pretty common but definitely not normal.”
“I was bloated all the time no matter what I ate,” Berghoff says. “I was exhausted no matter how long I slept. I was getting dizzy spells. I started gaining weight. My periods were irregular and I was experiencing hormonal problems. I would go to the doctor and they were just telling me that all my labs looked normal, even though these symptoms weren’t normal for me.”
The symptoms ultimately culminated in a mini-stroke, or transient ischemic attack, at the young age of 24. Dissatisfied with not receiving any answers about her ongoing health conditions, Berghoff enrolled in the Institute for Functional Medicine.
“While there, I learned traditional labs don’t show patients what is going on until it’s too late and they’re experiencing unpleasant symptoms,” Berghoff says. “They don’t show detail on nutrient levels, heavy metal toxicities, gut parasites and hormones. Within three months I was making major improvements in my own health and symptoms.”
Berghoff was excited to share what she learned by becoming a sought-after health and wellness expert, and eventually writing her second book, “Eat to Treat: The Three-Step Program to Reduce Inflammation, Detoxify Your Life, and Heal Your Body.” In the book, Berghoff shares her innovative strategies to reduce chronic inflammation in the body.
The book offers a quiz to help readers identify their inflammation type and severity, and a total toxic burden assessment. Berghoff says she realizes lab work can be expensive for individuals, and wanted to offer a cheaper way for readers to improve their overall health. She says it’s more cost-effective and straightforward than most people realize. Her first suggestion is to complete a pantry reset.
“The first thing I suggest is removing items from your pantry that contain chemicals, or swapping out your normal Oreos with the gluten-free, organic versions,” Berghoff says. “Another easy swap is to switch from plastic to glass storage containers and water bottles. We’re not trying to reduce toxins completely because that’s literally impossible in this modern-day world, but we’re just trying to reduce the overall toxins that your body can handle.”
Berghoff says sometimes patients don’t know precisely what inflammation looks like in their own body. She says by the time your body starts showing nagging symptoms such as bloating, joint pain, headaches, insomnia and so on, the body has been inflamed for years. She explains the body compensates until it just can’t anymore.
“People will sometimes say hypothyroidism runs in their family because it’s genetic,” Berghoff says. “While they may have a genetic predisposition if it runs in their family, they’re actually activating it by inflammation. It’s actually the chronic inflammation that has led to the complication.”
Berghoff says she dislikes using the word “diet” when discussing a healthy lifestyle and choosing what foods to nourish the body. She says her approach is more about appreciating how you want to feel based on what labs show.
“Let’s say you want to lose 10 pounds, and you go on a super restrictive diet that causes you stress and anxiety,” Berghoff says. “You end up missing out on life, and then two months later you’re back where you started. A lot of diets end up leaving people malnourished or deficient in key nutrients, so even if you lose the weight, you’re actually harming your body.”
Through her many entrepreneurial endeavors and extensive knowledge and training, Berghoff has become a renowned international speaker and leader in the health and wellness arena. She has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, USA TODAY, Business Insider, Glamour, top-rated podcasts and health documentaries. She also provides business consulting services such as mentoring and coaching to budding entrepreneurs and individuals looking to make a career change.
“I’m extremely excited for people to read the book because it will impact them in meaningful ways,” Berghoff says. “The cool thing is it’s really very simple. It’s all based on evidence-driven science, but I break it down in an easy-to-follow way that everyone
should be able to implement immediately. I think even if you only implement a few of the tips outlined in the book, your life will be tremendously better.”
For more information or to purchase the book, visit eattotreat.com.
