MY MISSION
To help people live a healthier life while taking fewer pills.
MY STORY
I graduated from pharmacy school in 2010 and I thought I had it all figured out! Little did I know that with experience came the realization that modern medicine relies heavily on drugs to treat the symptoms of an ailment, while often overlooking its root cause.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against modern medicine and medications. They save lives.
When I fall, hit my knee on a rock and have a 2-inch wide skin tear across my knee (true story!), I don’t want to meditate and eat broccoli to heal it! I want an orthopaedic surgeon to stitch it up, and I want to take antibiotics to remove any infection.
The reality is, modern medicine is great at treating acute problems. But when it comes to chronic illnesses, we rely heavily on drugs and pharmaceuticals. I believe that treatment plans have become so complicated that patients often don’t know what they are taking and why they are taking all these medications. They release all responsibility for their health to their medical team.
MY WHY
Most of us have a close friend or relative living with T2D and suffering from its complications…
I’m reminded daily of my uncle William who would have continued to spread light and joy for decades more had he not lost the fight against T2D complications.
It is unacceptable that we are losing ourselves and our loved ones to this awful, yet preventable disease. Because despite all the medical and pharmaceutical treatments available, the T2D epidemic continues to grow at an alarming rate.
This is why, after my pharmacy studies, I began to seek more knowledge. I became a yoga and meditation instructor with Yoga Medicine. I completed a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction class. And I continue to study with the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine to become an integrative health coach. As of 2021 I am also officially a CDE, Certified Diabetes Educator.
Type 2 diabetes (T2D)
“It’s a chronic and progressive illness.” That’s what we were taught in school. Which is why our current diabetes treatment guidelines lead very quickly to taking different types of medications to slow down the progression of the disease and its complications.
However, lifestyle habits (exercise and nutrition) are quickly overlooked as though they are too complicated… or as though they are necessarily going to fail.
It saddens me, to this day, that the importance of lifestyle habits isn’t emphasized enough.
OUR VISION
In an ideal world, people who receive a diagnosis of prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes should first be given time. Time to process this heavy diagnosis AND time to understand what it truly means -what is happening inside their own body-. Then, people should be given the education and the support they need to make lifestyle habit changes in the areas of nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management.
This is the beauty of integrative medicine: it’s like building a bridge between conventional modern medicine and complementary holistic medicine. Using the power of both for better outcome, better health, and better quality of life.
KASANA HEALTH
Education & support are the pillars of good treatment plans as they empower us to take control of our health. Since these pillars of treatment are often missing in our current healthcare system, my vision for Kasana Health is that it helps to fill in the gap.
Kasana Health provides education about #prediabetes & #Type2diabetes via 2 different platforms:
- Outsmarting Type 2 Diabetes: a free online course developed with the help of like-minded health professionals, dietician nutritionist Emily Zidel & family physician Dr.Dominique Hotte. This course is for anyone living with prediabetes or T2D and wanting to uplevel their treatment plan and regain control of their health.
- YouTube channel: easy to digest health information for the general public or anyone worried about T2D.
Kasana Health provides support through our private Facebook community, where 1500+ people interact, ask questions, learn from each other and support each other in their journeys towards better health. Join us HERE!
Get in Touch
We view ourselves as being part of a collective. Achieving change on a large scale requires collaboration. Our fellow healthcare practitioners are our partners, not our competitors.
Please fill out the form below if you would like to work or collaborate with Kasana Health, OR, if you are an individual with prediabetes or T2D who wants to inquire about Sara’s private 1:1 services.
Dave Mackey
Founder
I founded Kasana Health in 2010 with one goal. I want to help people live easier and happier lives. Being ill makes EVERYTHING harder and it breaks my heart to see people suffering unnecessarily. I intend to reach my goal through my commitment to #EndT2D.”
Emily Zidel
Dietician Nutritionist
“Type 2 diabetes is a disease that can be prevented and reversed through realistic and sustainable dietary changes. In my practice as a registered dietitian nutritionist, I have seen this happen with countless clients. It is my goal to continue to spread my knowledge and support to help #EndT2D.”
Dr. Dominique Hotte
Family Physician
“I want to help people live I am a strong believer in the power of lifestyle change as a remedy for many illnesses that plague millions of us annually. We need to focus on solutions rather than treating symptoms. I am so proud to be a part of the Kasana Health team as I have witnessed so many success stories firsthand through education and habit change.”