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Nelms Nutrition, LLC, 3525 Main Street, Rowlett, TX (2026)

09/06/2026

I’ve been thinking a lot about purpose lately.

Not necessarily the big, intimidating question of “What is my purpose in life?” I’m not sure I believe most of us have one single purpose anyway.

Maybe it’s quieter than that.

What makes you feel useful? Connected? Who needs you? What do you still want to experience? What makes your life feel meaningful—not to the whole world, but to your little corner of it?

There’s actually fascinating research around this.

People with a stronger sense of purpose tend to have less depression and anxiety, lower perceived stress, better sleep and healthier behaviors. Research has even found associations with inflammation, cardiovascular and cognitive health, and longevity.

Not because purpose cures disease. It doesn’t.

And certainly not because illness means someone has the wrong attitude.

I find it fascinating because we sometimes talk about the mind and body as though they live in separate rooms.

They don’t.

A thought can change your heart rate.
Fear can change your digestion.
Anticipation can keep you awake.
Grief can leave you physically exhausted.
Feeling safe can change the way you breathe.

And having something meaningful to get out of bed for can change the choices you make once you do.

That’s where mindset becomes much more interesting to me.

Not positive thinking. Not pretending everything is fine.

Mindset is how we make sense of what is happening to us—and what we believe is possible from here.

And purpose gives us a why.

Eating well feels different when it’s about having energy to live your life.

Movement feels different when it’s about staying strong enough to do what you love.

Taking care of yourself feels different when you recognize that your life is something worth taking care of.

I spend a lot of my professional life thinking about what makes a body healthier—nutrition, movement, sleep, metabolism, inflammation, blood sugar, digestion.

All of those things matter enormously.

But lately I keep coming back to a different question:

What are we trying to be healthy for?

Maybe one part of taking care of the body is giving the person living inside of it something meaningful to move toward.

09/03/2026

CONSTIPATION IS A SYMPTOM. THE QUESTION IS: WHY?

Constipation may be the GI complaint I hear about most often in practice.

Recently, I worked with a 32-year-old woman who was having only 1–2 bowel movements per week. She was also living with bloating, cramping, intestinal spasms and abdominal pain.

Once we looked more closely at what was contributing to the problem, we made a few targeted changes designed specifically to support her bowel function.

She is now having a comfortable, well-formed bowel movement every day.

But here's the important part:

Not everyone with constipation needs the same intervention.

When someone isn't having regular bowel movements, there are a lot of questions I want to ask.

Is there enough fluid and movement?

Is the person getting the right amount and types of fiber?

Is food moving too slowly somewhere along the GI tract—through the stomach, small intestine or colon?

Are the nerves and muscles of the GI tract communicating and contracting appropriately?

Is the pelvic floor relaxing and coordinating the way it should?

Could the anatomy itself be contributing—for example, an unusually long or tortuous colon?

Could connective-tissue differences be affecting the structure or function of the GI tract?

Could medications, thyroid function, metabolic factors or neurologic conditions be slowing things down?

Could changes in the gut microbiome be contributing?

And often, more than one of these things is happening at the same time.

That's why I don't think of constipation as simply a problem of “how do we make you go?”

The better question is:

Why aren't you going in the first place?

Sometimes the answer is relatively simple. Sometimes it takes more detective work.

But the goal isn't simply to find something that makes you p**p.

It's to understand what's interfering with normal bowel function—and address that.

09/02/2026

Beyond the Cholesterol Panel | Part 2

Cholesterol and Lipoprotein Particles Aren’t the Same Thing

In Part 1, I talked about why a standard cholesterol panel—total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides—may only show us part of the cardiovascular picture.

Here’s one reason why.

When you see LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) on your lab results, that number reflects the amount of cholesterol being carried within LDL particles.

But cholesterol and the particles carrying it aren’t the same thing.

Think of it like cargo being transported by trucks.

Two people can be carrying a similar amount of cholesterol while having a different number of particles transporting it.

The cholesterol is the cargo.

The lipoprotein particles are the trucks.

And that distinction matters.

The particles are what interact with the artery wall, and sometimes cholesterol concentration doesn’t accurately reflect the number of potentially artery-entering particles circulating in the blood.

This is where ApoB and advanced lipoprotein testing can give us another layer of information.

ApoB has received a lot more attention lately—and for good reason. Each of the major lipoprotein particles involved in atherosclerosis carries one ApoB molecule, making ApoB a useful way to estimate the number of these particles circulating in the blood.

Another way we can look deeper is with advanced lipoprotein testing, such as an NMR Lipoprofile, which can provide information about LDL particle number and characteristics that we don’t get from a standard cholesterol panel.

And here’s where it gets interesting:

LDL-C and particle number don’t always agree.

That mismatch—often called discordance—can reveal a cardiovascular picture that isn’t as obvious from the standard cholesterol numbers alone.

But advanced assessment isn’t about ordering every cardiovascular test available.

It’s about understanding what question we’re trying to answer, when additional information may be useful, and how the different pieces fit together.

Particle number is another piece of the iceberg.

And it’s still not the whole story.

Next: What can happen to LDL particles once they’re circulating?

Beyond the Cholesterol Panel | Part 2

08/27/2026

When “Normal” Isn’t Optimal — Part 1

Your blood sugar can look normal while your metabolism is already working harder than it should.

Here’s how:

When your cells become less responsive to insulin, your pancreas can compensate by producing more insulin.

For a while, that extra insulin may keep your blood glucose in the normal range.

So on paper, everything can look fine.

But behind the scenes, your body may be working overtime to keep it that way.

This is one reason I don’t like looking at fasting glucose or A1c in isolation. Sometimes the more revealing question is:

How much insulin does your body need to produce to keep that glucose “normal”?

Early blood sugar dysfunction often begins before blood sugar itself becomes obviously abnormal.

And that matters, because the earlier we recognize the pattern, the more opportunity we have to change its direction.

Up next - Part 2: Prediabetes doesn’t start at an A1c of 5.7%.

08/26/2026

We often talk about mental health and physical health as if they live in two separate worlds.

But your brain is part of your body.

And it is incredibly nutrient-dependent.

I recently worked with a 32-year-old man who had gone through a major life stressor about eight months earlier. He was experiencing major depression, high levels of anxiety, very low energy, and had a history of migraines. He was also concerned about fatty liver and high cholesterol.

During that difficult period, his eating habits had changed significantly.

By the time he came to see me, one of his biggest motivations wasn't his cholesterol or even his liver.

He wanted to feel like himself again.

Mental health counseling was an important part of his care. From the nutrition side, we began rebuilding the foundation his brain—and the rest of his body—needed.

Because the brain doesn't operate independently from nutrition.

Nutrients are needed to build and maintain brain-cell membranes, produce cellular energy, support neurotransmitter production and signaling, and regulate inflammation and oxidative stress.

Omega-3 fats. B vitamins. Magnesium. Zinc. Iron. Amino acids. Vitamin D. And many others.

These aren't simply “nutrition nutrients.”

They're brain nutrients, too.

At his follow-up about 6 weeks later, he reported significantly improved mood and energy. As he began feeling better, he started exercising—which has helped even more—and he's continuing to work on regulating his sleep.

Was food the only reason he improved? Absolutely not.

Counseling mattered.
Movement mattered.
Sleep mattered.
Time and healing mattered.

And nutrition belonged in that conversation, too.

There is now an entire field—nutritional psychiatry—studying the relationship between what we eat and mental health. Randomized clinical trials have even found that improving overall diet quality can reduce depressive symptoms in some people with depression.

Mental health is complicated, and nutrition isn't a replacement for therapy, medication when needed, or appropriate medical care.

But perhaps we need to stop treating the brain as though it somehow exists separately from the body we feed every day.

Feeding your body means feeding your brain, too.

08/25/2026

Your Cholesterol Panel Isn’t the Whole Story

You get your annual bloodwork back.

Total cholesterol.
LDL.
HDL.
Triglycerides.

Everything looks pretty straightforward.

But those four numbers are only part of the cardiovascular picture.

A standard lipid panel primarily tells us how much cholesterol and triglyceride are being carried in the blood. What it doesn't fully tell us is just as interesting.

Depending on the person, looking deeper can give us information about:

• the number and characteristics of cholesterol-carrying particles
• inherited cardiovascular risk
• systemic inflammation
• vascular inflammation and oxidative stress
• clotting-related risk

Why does that matter?

Because two people can have similar standard cholesterol results and not necessarily have the same cardiovascular risk profile.

And sometimes the different markers don't even agree with one another.

That's where advanced lab assessment gets interesting.

The goal isn't to order every cardiovascular test available. It's knowing which markers may add useful information, what each one is actually telling us, and how to interpret them together.

Your standard cholesterol panel is important.

It just isn't always the whole story.

Beyond the Cholesterol Panel — Part 1

08/24/2026

Are Plant “Antinutrients” Always Bad?

If you've spent much time in the nutrition world, you've probably heard warnings about "antinutrients" in plant foods.

Lectins. Phytates. Tannins. Oxalates.

They're often talked about as if plants are filled with compounds we need to eliminate.

But the biology is much more interesting than that.

Plants can't run away from insects.

They can't move into the shade when they're exposed to too much UV light.

And they can't escape drought, fungi or other environmental threats.

So plants developed their own sophisticated chemical defense systems.

And here's where it gets fascinating:

Some of the compounds plants make to protect themselves can create a small amount of stress in our cells when we eat them.

That may sound like a bad thing.

But remember Parts 1 and 2: a small, manageable stress can sometimes act as a signal that tells our cells to strengthen their defenses.

One of my favorite examples is sulforaphane, a compound produced from glucosinolates found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and kale.

Sulforaphane doesn't simply act like an antioxidant floating around and "mopping up" free radicals.

It can activate one of our body's major cellular defense systems—a pathway involving a protein called NRF2.

Think of NRF2 somewhat like a cellular switchboard.

When activated, it can turn on genes involved in producing and recycling some of our own protective systems, including:

• Glutathione
• Antioxidant enzymes
• Detoxification enzymes
• Proteins involved in cellular protection and repair

In other words, the plant compound doesn't necessarily do all the protecting itself.

It can signal the cell to become better at protecting itself.

And sulforaphane isn't the only plant compound being studied this way. Quercetin, curcumin, resveratrol and EGCG may have similar effects.

Polyphenols and other phytochemicals found in foods like berries, grapes, tea, herbs, spices and colorful vegetables can interact with many of the same cellular stress-response pathways.

This is one reason the old explanation—

"Plants are healthy because they're full of antioxidants."

—is incomplete.

Some plant compounds may benefit us not simply because they remove oxidative stress, but because they provide a small challenge that activates our own defenses.

There is an important caveat, though.

"Antinutrient" is a very broad label.

Phytates can bind minerals. Certain lectins can cause problems when improperly prepared or consumed in large amounts. Oxalates can be clinically important for some people. And a compound being naturally present in a plant certainly doesn't make it harmless at every dose.

So this isn't a case of:

Antinutrients are bad.

Or:

Antinutrients are good.

It's a reminder that biology rarely works in absolutes.

The compound matters.
The amount matters.
The person matters.
And the response matters.

Sometimes a substance we think of as a "stress" isn't simply something the body needs to avoid.

At the right exposure, it may also be a signal to adapt.

And that brings us right back to hormesis.

In Part 4, we'll bring everything together and look at something pretty remarkable:

Exercise, fasting, heat, cold—and even compounds in the plants we eat—may look completely different on the surface, but they share an important biological principle:

Challenge → Signal → Adaptation → Greater resilience

Hormesis, Part 3: Plant Defense Compounds

08/22/2026

When GI symptoms have been there since childhood, “just live with it” isn't a very satisfying answer.

I recently worked with a 34-year-old client who has struggled with significant digestive symptoms since he was a child:

Frequent diarrhea—sometimes up to 15 times a day.
Bloating.
Cramping.
Nausea.
Difficulty digesting and absorbing fats.

He had his gallbladder removed about a year ago, but that couldn't explain the whole picture. His symptoms had been there for decades.

So we dug deeper.

His testing revealed significant overgrowth of several opportunistic bacteria in his gut, along with signs that digestion, absorption, and the intestinal environment needed some attention. We also found some important nutrient deficiencies.

Rather than simply trying to “kill bad bacteria,” we started working on the environment that allowed them to thrive in the first place—digestion, bile physiology, microbial balance, food triggers, and the health of the intestinal lining.

We've been working through this in phases.

He's almost finished with Phase I, and after nearly a month, his symptoms are dramatically improving. He's still had a few flares—and we still have work to do—but overall, he's having fewer symptoms and feeling better.

Next, we begin rebuilding: supporting beneficial bacteria, carefully adding prebiotic fiber, and giving the intestinal lining what it needs to recover.

One of the things I love most about gut health is that it's rarely about finding one “bad” food or taking one magic supplement.

Sometimes you have to ask a better question:

What is happening in this gut that keeps allowing the problem to happen?

That's where the detective work begins. 🔎

08/19/2026

Remember the mitochondria from high school biology? Your mitochondria need a challenge too.

In Part 1, I introduced hormesis—the idea that a small, manageable stress can trigger adaptations that make the body more resilient.

Now let's take that concept inside the cell.

You may know mitochondria as the "powerhouses" of our cells because they help turn the food we eat into usable energy.

But mitochondria do much more than make energy.

They also sense what's happening around them, respond to stress and send signals that can change how the cell functions.

This brings us to mitohormesis.

When mitochondria and cells experience a manageable challenge—exercise is a great example—there can be temporary changes in molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS), often referred to as "free radicals."

We've been taught to think of free radicals as bad.

But that's only part of the story.

At high or poorly controlled levels, reactive oxygen species can contribute to cellular damage.

At lower, temporary levels, however, they can act as signals.

And that signal can essentially tell the cell:

"We need to be better prepared for this next time."

In response, cells can activate protective pathways that:

• Increase their own antioxidant defenses
• Support glutathione production and recycling (the body's major antioxidant)
• Increase antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and catalase
• Repair or remove damaged cellular components
• Improve mitochondrial quality control
• Stimulate the production and remodeling of mitochondria

In other words:

Challenge → Signal → Adaptation → Greater resilience

Exercise is one of the best examples.

A workout temporarily challenges your cells. Metabolic demands increase. Your cells respond by activating pathways that help them become better equipped to handle that challenge again.

This is one reason I think the phrase "oxidative stress" can sometimes be misleading.

We don't necessarily want to eliminate every reactive oxygen species the moment it's produced.

Some of those molecules are part of the communication system telling our cells how to adapt.

The difference is in the dose.

Too much oxidative stress can cause damage.

But a small, temporary challenge followed by adequate recovery?

That can be the signal that makes the system stronger.

And this brings us to one of my favorite parts of this topic:

🌱 Plants can create these signals too.

In Part 3, we'll look at some of the compounds plants make to protect themselves—including some that have been labeled "antinutrients"—and what happens when *our* cells encounter them.

The story is much more interesting than "antioxidants are good and free radicals are bad."

*Hormesis, Part 2: Mitohormesis

01/15/2026

In August 2025, I began meeting with a 61-year-old woman whose life changed after a severe COVID-19 infection in 2021.

Within just a couple of months, she began losing her vision and strength in one leg. She has been profoundly deaf since age 5, and she is one of the most extraordinary humans I’ve ever worked with.

She had seen every specialist you can imagine — neurology, ophthalmology, a functional medicine doctor, you name it - and still left without answers. One MRI showed reduced blood flow to one of the optic nerves in her brain.

Her vision loss became so severe that she hasn’t been able to drive for well over two years.

COVID-19 is known to injure blood vessel linings and create “microclots” that can literally choke off blood flow to tiny capillaries - including those feeding different parts of the optic nerve and eyes.

This insight became our starting point.

Her diet was incredibly clean – whole, real foods, no added sugar - but also extremely restricted. A previous nutritionist had advised her to remove most whole grains, beans, nightshades, nuts, nut butters, and seeds, leaving her with very few foods she felt “allowed” to eat.

She was taking multiple anti-inflammatory and nerve-support supplements, but there was very little change.

Here’s the problem:
🚫 Long-term food restriction = nutrient gaps
⚙️ Nutrient gaps = sluggish metabolic pathways
🧠 Sluggish pathways = the body can’t repair, rebuild, or restore

Lab review showed chronically and historically low lymphocytes - likely worsening her COVID severity and recovery.

So we changed the strategy.

✨ First: More food, not less

She brought back beans (her favorite!), a greater variety of colorful vegetables and fruits, and nut butters - the foods her body was craving for nourishment. And she missed them so much!

✨ Next: Support the blood vessels

We switched to a vascular repair protocol - protect the blood vessel linings (the “endothelium”), dissolve microclots, and improve blood flow throughout the body.

She started a vision-specific multinutrient (containing lutein, zeaxanthin, bilberry, and ginkgo), brain-targeted choline to increase blood flow, and specific enzymes to help clear those microclots, and repair the damage and debris within the blood vessels. And yes — simple beetroot to boost blood flow as well.

🌈 And then the update that stopped me in my tracks:
Her vision is improving.

She used to only see high-contrast objects - black on white, white on black.
Recently, she spotted a brown object on her brown rug.
She’s noticing outdoor details she couldn’t see before.
She can read text from farther away.
And she is hopeful - truly hopeful - she will drive again.

And all the while, she has maintained an incredibly positive attitude and fully embraced each challenge and the blessings that have emerged.

When we first met, she told me, “Paula – I only want to focus on all of the good stuff!” And so that’s what we did. ❤️

Nutrition doesn’t cure everything, but I’m here to tell you it’s one of our most powerful tools. Many times, the right nutrients unlock the body’s ability to heal in ways we never expected.

Nelms Nutrition, LLC

09/06/2026

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