ABOUT KARI NATWICK

I grew up knowing that food was medicine.
It took years of practice to understand why.

I am a registered dietitian nutritionist, functional nutrition practitioner, and the practitioner women find when nothing else has worked. This is the story of how I got here — and why I practice the way I do.

THE ORIGIN

The body is not separate from the world it lives in.
It never was.

I grew up on a farm in Minnesota. My father grew a garden the size of most people's entire yards — we're talking planted with a corn planter. Every harvest season, my aunts, my grandmothers, my cousins would all convene. We'd shuck sweet corn in the yard, then move into the basement of my parents' house — which transformed into a full production line — boiling, cutting, bagging, freezing. Everyone went home with their share. That still happens today.

We raised our own beef and poultry. We knew where our food came from because we grew it, tended it, harvested it together. Food was never just nutrition in our house. It was relationship. It was rhythm. It was the thing that gathered people and held them.

I carried that knowing into my training as a dietitian — though for a while, my training tried to educate it out of me. My internship was spent in hospital kitchens with a hairnet and a number eight scoop, serving instant mashed potatoes and canned green beans to sick people as though that was care. Something in me knew it wasn't.

"Food was never just nutrition in our house. It was relationship. It was rhythm. It was the thing that gathered people and held them."

The real shift came when I worked at United Indian Health Services in California — a clinic with a two-acre garden on site, fruit trees, a farm stand, produce boxes for WIC participants. For the first time I felt it: real food and real healing were the same conversation.

That deepened profoundly when I moved to Alaska and began working with American Indian and Alaska Native communities. I traveled to villages. I spent time at moose camp. I attended traditional food camps where children learned to harvest seal and render seal oil. I watched elders light up when they ate their traditional foods — and I understood that what was happening wasn't just biochemical. It was spiritual. Their food nourished their bodies and their souls simultaneously. Those two things were never meant to be separate.

I believe the disconnection from that — from food, from land, from season, from community — is one of the most significant and underacknowledged drivers of chronic illness in our time. And that re-entering relationship with the earth, with real food, with our own bodies, is medicine.

HOW I PRACTICE

Science and nature
are not opposites.
They are the same story.

After a decade in integrative and functional medicine, I have come to understand something that does not fit neatly into a protocol: your physiology is telling the story of your life. The season you are in. The relationships that hold or drain you. The pace you have been running. The connection — or disconnection — from land, from rhythm, from your own body's signals.

The body is intelligent

Symptoms are not random failures. They are the body's most coherent attempt to communicate. My job is to learn the language — and respond appropriately.

The body is part of nature

Your nervous system responds to light through leaves. Your microbiome is shaped by the soil you touch. Your healing is connected to the season you are in. This is not mysticism. This is biology.

MEET KARI — FUNCTIONAL GUT HEALTH DIETITIAN

I'm so glad you're here!

I'm Kari Natwick, and my passion is helping women find gut health empowerment. As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), Integrative and Functional Nutrition Certified Practitioner (IFNCP), and Certified Gastrointestinal Nutritionist (CGN), I specialize in guiding women through the maze of persistent digestive issues. From bloating, constipation, and diarrhea to gas, reflux, and abdominal pain, I'm here to create a personal roadmap for your gut healing.

My journey toward this field wasn't just professional — it was personal. Battling my own autoimmune thyroid disorder, digestive woes, and mold toxicity, I intimately understand the hurdles of managing chronic health issues.

My approach is not just about treating symptoms; it's about holistic healing. I delve into the intricate relationship between the gut and brain, recognizing the profound impact it has on our overall wellbeing. Through functional lab testing, a personalized gut-healing program, and education, I guide my clients toward improved wellness, increased energy, and hormone balance.

My mission is simple: to empower you on your path to vitality. I believe in creating a space where you feel heard, supported, and uplifted. When you take charge of your gut health, you're not just restoring balance in your body — you're reclaiming your energy to pursue your passions.

Witnessing the remarkable transformations of my clients fuels my passion every day. Together, let's embark on a journey toward optimal health and happiness.

My Approach to Healing:

I help women restore health by addressing the true roots of chronic symptoms—through advanced functional nutrition, nervous system regulation, and whole-person systems thinking—so healing becomes embodied, sustainable, and life-giving.

Many of the women I work with have already “done all the right things.” They’ve tried supplements, elimination diets, protocols, and testing, yet still don’t feel well.

My approach begins with a different understanding: healing isn’t something we force through willpower or aggressive protocols—it emerges when the body has the right conditions, capacity, and support.

I combine high-level clinical nutrition and functional testing with trauma-informed care and nervous system regulation. I use data—labs, history, patterns—to inform decisions, but I never reduce a person to numbers. Labs provide insight; they do not replace discernment.

I treat the gut as an ecosystem, the nervous system as foundational, and the body as intelligent.

Rather than starting with restriction or symptom suppression, I focus on building terrain—supporting digestion, mineral balance, detoxification capacity, metabolic resilience, and nervous system safety—so change can occur without overwhelm.

Food and botanicals are used thoughtfully and strategically, with an emphasis on nourishment rather than deprivation. I avoid unnecessary elimination diets and prioritize approaches that are realistic, sustainable, and supportive of long-term health.

At the heart of my work is embodiment. True healing does not happen through protocols alone. It requires attunement, pacing, witnessing, and reconnection to the body’s signals and needs.

My role is not to override the body, but to listen to it—so health becomes something you can maintain, not manage.

Fun facts about me:

I have a love for all things nature and the great outdoors.
Being surrounded by nature is therapeutic and restorative.
Whether it's hiking, backpacking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, paddle boarding, canoeing, or kayaking, I'm always up for an adventure!
Cooking is another passion of mine.
I'm a master gardener with an emphasis on vegetable gardening. I believe in the power of growing your own food and connecting with the earth.
Did you know that by incorporating whole, nourishing foods into your diet, you can help to support your digestive health and overall wellbeing.

I'm here to support you every step of the way in your journey towards optimal health. Let's work together to uncover the root causes of your health issues and help you transform your life.

Training and Credentials:

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist – RDN

Licensed Dietitian - Alaska and Oregon - LD

Integrative and Functional Nutrition Certified Practitioner - IFNCP™

Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy - IFNA™ - Certificate of Training

Certified Gastrointestinal Nutritionist, CGN™- SIBO Academy

Mind, Mood & Food training with the Center for Mind, Body Medicine

Women's Functional & Integrative Medicine Professional Training Program by Dr. Aviva Romm, MD.

Affiliations

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy

Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine

What Guides My Care:

High Clinical Excellence
I work with complex cases using advanced functional nutrition and testing while honoring the full context of each person’s life and physiology.

Whole-System Thinking
Health emerges from the interaction of biology, environment, nervous system capacity, and lived experience—not isolated symptoms.

Nervous System Safety First
Healing is limited by capacity. My care is trauma-informed, consent-based, and paced to support regulation and resilience.

Nourishment Over Restriction
I prioritize food and botanicals as medicine without unnecessary deprivation, supporting both human health and ethical, sustainable food systems.

Embodiment as Essential
Lasting change happens when women move out of override and back into relationship with their bodies.

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LGBTQIA-friendly dietitian

At Kari Natwick Nutrition, we proudly serve and support individuals of the LGBTQIA community. Our practice is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and trauma-informed environment for all clients. We celebrate diversity and honor the unique experiences of each person we work with.