MEET ALISON
My Story Started
With Questions
My dad used to come into my room in the morning singing to wake me up.
He was a gentle soul, and I was a daddy's girl. He was the person who showed me what it felt like to be loved deeply and unconditionally.
Then, in 2005, my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
If you've ever watched someone you love live with Alzheimer's, you know there are losses that happen long before the final goodbye. I watched this man I adored change in ways I couldn't stop, couldn't fix, and didn't understand.
And I wanted to understand.
Even while my dad was still living with the disease, I started reading. Researching. Asking questions.
Why does this happen?
That question got into my head—and yes, maybe under my skin, too.
I wanted to understand what might contribute to a disease like Alzheimer's. Why one person could experience it while another didn't. What role our everyday choices might play in our overall wellness—and what things were actually within our control.
At that point, I wasn't pursuing a career.
I was a daughter looking for answers.
So I dove in.
I read. I researched. I took notes—pages and pages of them. One notebook became another, and then another.
And I kept asking why.
What influences our health? How does one thing affect another? What choices are within our control? What might we be missing when we look at only one piece?
The more I learned, the more I realized how much there was still to learn.
I lost my dad in 2008.
And while I was grieving him and continuing to search for answers, my mom began a similar journey.
Alzheimer's. Again.
Two parents. The same disease.
This time, the questions became even more personal.
Because underneath all that curiosity was something I didn't always say out loud:
I was scared.
Was I watching my own future?
I didn't want Alzheimer's to become my story. I wanted my mind. I wanted my independence. I wanted to be able to participate fully in my own life for as long as possible.
I knew I couldn't control everything that might happen to me.
But through everything I was learning, I had become convinced of something that still influences the way I live today:
Our choices really do matter.
We don't get to choose everything that happens to us. But there are choices we make every single day that are ours to make.
What we put on the end of our fork. How we care for ourselves. The habits we build. The things we're exposed to. What we learn—and what we choose to do with what we learn.
I couldn't choose my genetics, and I couldn't guarantee my future.
But I could learn. I could make informed choices. And I could take an active role in caring for myself.
So I kept going.
My self-education had begun while my dad was still living with Alzheimer's and continued into the early years of my mom's journey.
Eventually, I knew I wanted to take that learning further.
That's when years of self-education became a formal education.
Questions Became Something More
While my mom was living with Alzheimer's, I went back to school to become Certified in Holistic Nutrition.
I studied. I learned. I challenged what I thought I knew. And eventually, I sat for the national board examination to become Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition®.
And I was doing all of this while also being a daughter and caregiver to a mother living with Alzheimer's.
Those years were hard.
Really hard.
My mom could be loving and combative in the same hour. There were good days and difficult days, moments of connection and moments when the disease seemed to take over everything.
Anyone who has cared for someone with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia knows how complicated that kind of love can become.
You love them fiercely. You get exhausted. Your heart aches. And sometimes you find yourself grieving someone who is still sitting right there in front of you.
My mom lived with Alzheimer's for 11 years, and throughout those years, I kept learning.
What I was studying went far beyond food. I was learning more about how the body actually works—how its different systems relate to one another and why looking at one piece in isolation can leave so much of the picture unseen.
And I couldn't help but apply what I was learning to real life.
To my mom. To my family. To friends. And to the people who were already coming to me for help.
There was always a person behind the information.
What began as a deeply personal search for answers was becoming something more. I knew I wanted to use what I was learning to help other people better understand their own health.
After completing my education and earning my board certification, I was ready to give that work a name.
Early Byrd Wellness
Byrd was my parents' last name.
I chose the name Early Byrd Wellness to honor the two people whose journeys changed the direction of my life.
But the name also represents something I came to believe very deeply:
To me, being an “Early Byrd” means becoming an active participant in your own wellness.
Sometimes we make changes because we want to be proactive. Other times, something happens that forces us to pay attention. Either way, the choices we make next can become proactive choices for our future selves.
It's never too late to start.
My mom died from Alzheimer's disease in 2020.
When I look back now, I would never call what my parents went through a gift. Alzheimer's took too much from both of them—and from the people who loved them.
But something meaningful grew out of their suffering.
What began with a daughter searching for answers eventually became a way for me to use what I'd learned to help other people better understand their own health.
Their story became part of my purpose.
And that purpose continues to shape the philosophy behind Early Byrd Wellness today:
Connect the Dots. Understand the Why.
Education & Training
Focused Education. Deeper Expertise.
I believe continuing education should have a purpose. I focus my training on the areas where deeper knowledge can bring the greatest value to the work I do with my clients—building on years of experience while staying current with new research and emerging knowledge.
That advanced training allows me to bring a wider lens to each client's individual health story—seeing the pieces not simply on their own, but in relation to one another.
Education & Professional Credentials
Board Certified
in Holistic Nutrition® (BCHN®)
National Association of
Nutrition Professionals
Certified BioIndividual
Nutrition Practitioner
BioIndividual Nutrition Institute
Certified Brain
Health Professional
Amen University / Amen Clinics
B.S. Food Service Management
Johnson & Wales University
A.S. Culinary Arts
Johnson & Wales University
Specialized Training & Continuing Education
Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis
Delayed Food Allergen Analysis
Organic Acid Analysis
Environmental Toxin Screening
Mycotoxin Screening
GI Spotlight Training
Art of Digestive Wellness
Cellular Healing Specialist — Level 1
Cleansing & Fasting Specialist Certification
Your Story Matters, Too.
You've read a little about the experiences that shaped my story and ultimately led me to this work. But if you're here because something about your own health isn't making sense, your story is the one that matters now.
Your symptoms, your history, your experiences, and the questions you haven't found answers to are all part of that story.
If you're ready to take a closer look at what's been going on, I'd love to hear your story.