The Sprout Sisters are MICHELLE APPLEHANS and DENISE VEGA, sisters in real life–only 15 months apart–and best friends! We love all things health and wellness but even more than that we LOVE supporting people on their way to feeling fabulous. As Nutrition Therapist Masters–along with other certifications (see below)–we are ready and willing to help you achieve your health goals.

Michelle

My passion for living a healthy lifestyle is rooted in my mother’s efforts to feed us proper nutrition. Over the years, I found myself trying the latest fads (low fat, low carb) and following the headlines in search of the healthiest way to eat. When I began taking nutrition science courses with my sister a few years ago, I discovered what is really happening between food and our bodies and my desire to help others was ignited.

As part of my journey, I went gluten free for about 6 years after reading the book Grain Brain by David Perlmutter MD. During this time, I also drastically reduced (and even eliminated for a time) my intake of ultra processed foods. I had improvements in mood, joint pain, bowel issues, and gut pain. It was life-changing in many ways. More recently in 2020, I switched to a primarily plant-forward eating style. I discovered I have more energy, improved metabolic health, and reduced pain that I had previously experienced with certain exercises. I fully embrace the lifestyle concepts of eating well, moving, connecting with others, and restorative sleep to nourish the body, mind, and spirit.

SPECIAL INTERESTS

• Gut Health

• Glucose regulation and insulin resistance

• Inflammation 

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Denise

Like Michelle, our mother got us started eating healthy using a book she had gotten from her mother, our grandmother. Let’s Have Healthy Children by Adelle Davis. I really disliked some of the things she made us eat, such as cod liver oil (the mint flavor did not help!). But Adelle was ahead of her time with the benefits of fish oil as well as other nutrients, such as those found in her “Tiger’s Milk,” which was a concoction designed to provide a protein boost as well as other nutrients.
As I grew into adulthood, I become more interested in nutrition and explored a few workshops and classes before committing to some longer form certification programs (see below for the combined nutrition education Michelle and I have had).
While I have been very healthy overall, my relationship with food wasn’t always healthy. I found myself having “food noise” (though there wasn’t a name for it back then) and also realized I was addicted to certain highly processed, highly palatable snack foods. This led me to the topic of my independent study project at the Nutrition Therapy Institute: “Can’t Eat Just One: Food Addiction, Highly Processed Foods, and Weight Management.” Focusing on food addiction and weight management is a passion for me, and I would love to support those who struggle in these areas.

My other passion is cardiovascular health, not only because I have family and friends who suffered or are suffering from poor cardiovascular health but also because I discovered I have elevated lipoprotein(a), also known as lp “little a.” (As does Michelle). This lipoprotein is passed down genetically and is a separate risk factor for heart disease and stroke. One in five people in the world have elevated lp(a) and many don’t know it! I use nutrition and other lifestyle factors to lower my overall cardiovascular risk to help offset this genetic risk. As a whole food plant-based eater, I have seen significant drops in my LDL cholesterol and other markers and would love to share my knowledge and experience with others.

SPECIAL INTERESTS

While I can support a variety of health challenges, these are of particular interest to me:

• Food addiction
• Weight management and maintenance
• Cardiovascular health, especially re: Lipoprotein(a) and lowering cholesterol and APOB

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Other Stuff

Both of us are whole food plant-based eaters and cooks and we have studied–and received certificatiion–on the benefits of including more plants into any dietary pattern. We are here to support you–Food CAN change chronic disease and the research is there.

We LOVE to cook! One of our favorite things to do is make a delicious, whole food, plant-based meal and watch eaters enjoy and get excited about it. “This is SO good. Is it really healthy for me?” is a question we often hear and the answer is YES! 

And we can talk about the benefits of sprouts too, being that we are the Sprout Sisters.

We are schooled in the benefits of whole, nutritionally dense foods to support the prevention/reduction of chronic diseases and metabolic disorders.We also have areas of interest that we like to focus on together and individually.

Together we are both very interested in gut health and the power of plants and fiber to improve our microbiomes, though Michelle’s final project was on gut disorders and nutritional approaches for improvement–she knows her stuff! A healthy gut microbiome is key to so much of how we feel.

Both of us are whole food plant-based eaters and cooks and we have studied–and received certification–on the benefits of including more plants into any dietary pattern. 

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