Getting to the Root Cause

Renewed Wellness Helps Clients Develop a Healthier, Holistic Approach to Living

For six years, Amber Fair worked as a nurse practitioner in conventional medicine. Prior to that, she worked for 15 years in the local emergency department. During that time, she saw a full scale of ailments. She was especially puzzled by the number of women in their 40s and older who complained that they just didn’t feel well. None of them could put their finger on why, and a visit to their GP didn’t solve the mystery. In fact, it often only made them feel frustrated when their doctors shrugged their shoulders and told them, “Your labs look fine. Welcome to menopause!” Or they might underplay it and chalk the brain fog up to “mom brain.”

“It’s hard to tell someone that everything looks good [from a lab perspective] when you know there’s something going on,” says Fair, who was keen on getting to the root of her patients’ physical ailments. Therefore, she began researching functional medicine.

“I wanted answers,” she says. She admits that learning about functional medicine is both fascinating and overwhelming simply because there’s so much to absorb. But it sure beats shrugging one’s shoulders and essentially telling a patient it’s part of life that they’re feeling lousy.

“One major goal of functional medicine is to optimize hormones and other levels,” says Fair, who notes that in conventional medicine we often get caught up on what’s considered “normal” per lab standards, which isn’t always what is best for us.

“Normal ranges are one thing, but we want optimal ranges because that’s when people feel better,” Fair says. “For instance, a normal Vitamin D level is between 30 and 100, but if your number is 32, you’re closer to the lower end of the spectrum and will likely not feel as well. We want it to be 70 or 80 so you can increase your ability to feel better.”

Therefore, Fair decided to open a place where she could focus on hormones, vitamins, gut health, and overall holistic health. In September 2022, she and her husband Rob, opened Renewed Wellness with a desire to partner with patients on their journey for a healthier, holistic approach to living.

Fair’s sister, Ashley Miller, is a medical