Martha Hammel is a nutritionist, natural food chef, and neuro-nutrient recovery specialist based in Boulder, CO.  She received a master's degree in Integrative Nutrition the Maryland University of Integrative Health after writing her thesis on the intersection of emotional trauma, addiction, and gut health.  

She specializes in eating disorders, addiction, traumatic brain injury, anxiety, depression, and the mind-body-spirit connection.  Martha believes in the power of food, sunshine, and supplements to support the body through it's healing process.   

Schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation today to see how she can support you on your journey to wellness.  

Background

I've had a lifelong passion for nutrition.  I contemplated studying nutrition for my undergraduate degree, but disagreed with the western model of nutritional sciences.  Instead, I studied public communication, community development, and green building.  I took classes in environmental policy and food systems.  I was introduced to permaculture and restoration ecology--both of which strongly influence the way in which I view functional medicine now. 

After graduation, I experienced the typical early-twenties existential crisis, and realized that I still wanted to study nutrition.  I first found the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and completed my health coach training.  I spent a few years trying to work as a health coach, but every client that came to me had questions that went beyond my training.  I shifted gears and attended Bauman College to train as a natural foods chef.  I'm still not the greatest cook, but Bauman taught me how to teach others.  I started teaching healthy cooking workshops, how to make grains, the basics of beans, simple sauerkrauts, and more.  

I loved teaching the classes, but I kept meeting people with problems bigger than I could solve.  All the research I could do on my own wasn't giving me the answers I wanted, so I went back to school.  I received my master's in nutrition from the Maryland University of Integrative Health.  There I developed a passion for biochemisty.  My understanding of the systems modeled in permaculture found a mirror in the functional pathways of the human body.

I wrote my thesis on the intersections of trauma, addiction, and gut health.  I spent a summer nerding-out on neuroscience--looking into how to stimulate the production of neurotransmitters with nutrition and exploring the impact that such work has for anxiety, depression, and addiction.  I've explored amino acid therapy and trauma release work.

To deepen my practical experience, I packed up and moved to Hawaii to work under Dr. Maya Baylac at the Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat.  There I worked directly with patients with addiction, eating disorders, lyme, dysphagia, chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, candida, and a host of other complex conditions.  I assisted Dr. Baylac as she customized treatment plans for each patient, and supported the patients through their unique healing processes.  

I'm still as fascinated by nutrition as I was so many years ago.  I make a point to keep up with research, take classes, and attend workshops to strengthen my practice.  There is never an end to exploration.