gut health

Our Health Community: Fresh Food Bites

Abbie SawyerOur Health Community, Your Best Life

We’re so excited to feature Fresh Food Bites, a blog dedicated to improving gut health through diet, created by dietitian and nutritional coach Laura Marzen!

Tell us a bit about Fresh Food Bites. Why did you start this business? How has it evolved? What is it today?

Fresh Food Bites started as a food blog, as a creative outlet for me. I had been developing recipes for national magazines and cookbooks, and the blog was a way for me to be able to create recipes that didn’t have to fit a certain mold. I really enjoyed the work I was doing, but I wanted a space to hold the recipes that I was cooking at home. When I really began to get serious about improving my health, I dove into the world of functional health and nutrition because I wasn’t satisfied with the answers I was getting through conventional medicine.

As my health improved, I knew I wanted to help others improve their health as well. Now I focus on helping people make intentional shifts in their eating and lifestyle habits through virtual health and nutrition coaching.

What makes your approach different?

I believe that if a person wants to improve their health for the long-term, it’s essential to get to the root of why they aren’t feeling their best in the first place. Many common symptoms are the body’s way of communicating that something isn’t working the way it should. Getting a clearer picture of what’s causing the symptoms allows us to address it through nutrition and lifestyle shifts. This makes it easier for a person to get long-term relief from their symptoms.

One example that happens frequently in my practice is constipation. This is a common digestive symptom, and while it can be easy to “fix” by taking an over-the-counter medicine, this doesn’t address the reason why it’s happening in the first place. By digging into why the constipation is happening, it’s easier to put the nutrition and lifestyle habits in place to overcome it for good.

How does your business help people?

While digestion isn’t the most fun topic, it can be a big frustration for people. I specialize in helping people improve their digestion and gut health so that they no longer have to live with frustrating symptoms. Gut health has a big impact on health. It affects nutrition status, mood, metabolism, energy, and more, which is why it’s so important to focus on.

What’s one thing people should know about your business if they’ve never tried it before?

Working with a dietitian can seem intimidating. Many people think dietitians are the food police, and that we’re going to be judgmental about what they’re eating or tell them to eat salad for every meal and never splurge on anything fun. While I am a big fan of eating more vegetables, I really want to help people make changes that will work with their lifestyle. I don’t believe it does any good to force changes you’re never going to stick with, which is why I take a personalized approach with each client I work with.

What gets you up in the morning?

I have a lot on my plate (in a good way!), and years ago it wasn’t as easy to accomplish everything I wanted to do because my digestive issues really got in the way. My mission is to help as many people as I can to overcome their digestive symptoms and optimize their health and energy so they can live their life to the fullest.

What do you love about the Greater Des Moines community?

Naturally, I love to eat and feel our food and restaurant scene is vibrant, and I’m always down to try one of our local coffee and tea shops. Probably the thing I love the most about Des Moines is that there’s always something to do or new area to explore.

I also appreciate that while there are way more people here compared to the town where I grew up, it’s not so big that you never run into people you know when you’re out and about. In that way, it feels a bit like a small town.

What’s next?

Continue building up my nutrition coaching practice and learning all that I can so I can help more people optimize their health.

Where can people learn more about Fresh Food Bites?

The best way to learn more about what I do and how I can help you reach your health goals is on my website: https://www.freshfoodbites.com

You can also connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshfoodbites/

Share this Post