Kerri Axelrod ’22DPD completed the Didactic Program in Dietetics Certificate at Simmons, and now offers nutrition counseling through her private practice, Kerri Axelrod Wellness, where she focuses particularly on the connection between gut health and mental health.
In her first career, Kerri Axelrod was working in the fast-paced world of a presidential campaign. While the work was engaging, it had a negative impact on her health. “I got very sick from the stress of that lifestyle, though I didn’t know that it was due to my lifestyle, at the time,” she says. “I knew nothing about nutrition, dietetics, or wellness.”
Dissatisfied with the answers she was receiving through the healthcare system, she started educating herself. “I was dealing with severe burnout, anxiety attacks, and poor digestive health. No one asked about the food I was eating — mostly takeout. No one was asking about my sleep — with my phone under the pillow and my laptop on the bed. None of those factors was taken into account. I became interested, not just in food, but in other factors that affect our health.”
Axelrod stepped away from politics to complete certifications in yoga, holistic health coaching, and ayurvedic medicine [alternative medicine with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent], and began writing a blog about her discoveries. Once people started reaching out for advice and health coaching, she says, “I knew this is what I wanted to be doing, and that the next step was Simmons.”
Axelrod completed the Didactic Program in Dietetics Certificate at Simmons, and now offers nutrition counseling through her private practice, Kerri Axelrod Wellness, where she focuses on functional medicine nutrition. “I like to think about how food can positively or negatively affect our overall nutrition and gut bacteria, and the function of the digestive system,” says Axelrod. “I also think about [a client’s] sleep, stress levels, and lifestyle. Are they getting outside to support their circadian rhythm?”
She focuses particularly on the connection between gut health and mental health. “There are connections between the gut and the brain. A physical connection, chemical connection, and an emotional connection,” she says. “Some current research demonstrates that people who exhibit depression and loneliness have a different makeup of gut bacteria than those who have more connection and positive emotions.”
While the research is constantly evolving, Axelrod keeps abreast of discoveries and nascent connections. “I’m grateful that I don’t just focus on nutrition in my private practice. While nutrition is incredibly important, what I’ve found is that a deeper understanding of health is needed to figure out the root of more complex conditions. I focus on figuring out root imbalances, as opposed to suppressing symptoms.” She credits the scientific training she received at Simmons, as well as additional study in functional medicine, to enabling her understanding of complex health conditions. “Without the science-based training I received at Simmons, I wouldn’t be able to help my clients the way I can, now.”
Axelrod meets with clients twice per month to work through symptoms, committing to work together for at least six months. “Symptoms don’t pop up overnight,” she notes. “By the time [clients] get to me, it’s usually years or a decade of symptoms slowly progressing. It’s not going to change overnight. The goal is to slowly guide the body back to a state of balance.”
Axelrod encourages anyone interested in the field to explore, widely. “There are so many different avenues that you can take within the field of nutrition,” she says. “If I had an inkling of interest [on a topic], I did a training, talked to someone [in that role], or did a rotation. That has helped me become a well-rounded practitioner.”
She also found support through students and alumnae/i from Simmons, who helped her throughout her course of study. “[While at Simmons] I made a lot of friends who are dietitians working in functional medicine nutrition, with successful practices. Being able to network with them and understand the end game was really helpful.”
Now, she can enjoy the result of her hard work. “Private practice allows you to spend time with clients, and that’s really rewarding,” says Axelrod. “[I love] helping clients who have felt unseen in the traditional health care system finally start to understand their symptoms and begin to correct them.”