Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelley Swapp.
Hi Shelley, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
For years, I thought I understood what it meant to be healthy. I exercised, ate “low-fat,” and did my best to feed my growing family well. But by the time my fourth child was born, everything I thought I knew began to unravel.
One of my sons was diagnosed with a catastrophic muscle wasting disease and was in early stage heart failure by age 5, my other children also faced a cascade of health challenges—food allergies, attention issues, sensory disorders, and emotional struggles. Our days were filled with doctor visits, therapies, and restrictive diets, yet we kept hitting dead ends. The answers were vague, the options limited, and I often left appointments feeling more discouraged than when I walked in.
What began as desperation slowly turned into determination. I immersed myself in books, research, and conversations with anyone who had a piece of the puzzle. I started running, more for survival than sport, and found myself asking deeper questions on those early-morning miles: What does true wellness actually look like? Why are so many people doing “everything right” and still feeling awful? I started to see how disconnected we were from food that actually nourished us—and how little support women had in navigating their own health, especially while caring for others.
That same drive led me to take a job launching the Diabetes Prevention Program in Florida, where I coached participants and trained other health professionals. The experience was both inspiring and frustrating. While the program aimed to prevent disease, the tools we had to offer often felt outdated—fat grams, food diaries, and generic advice. I knew we could do better. People deserved more than one-size-fits-all care.
So when my husband’s career took us from Florida to California, I went back to school.
I trained as a clinical herbalist in Western, Ayurvedic, and Traditional Chinese Medicine, even studying in hospitals in China. I opened a small private clinic in San Jose, CA and also worked alongside some amazing colleagues and mentors at a series of Free Clinics we offered in homeless shelters and at Veteran’s centers. As my work progressed I realized, much like I had with my own children, that you can’t “out herb” a poor diet, So I went back to school again and earned a Master’s in Clinical Nutrition, adding additional certifications in Women’s Health and Nutrigenomics (DNA) along the way.
Today, I live just minutes from some of Utah’s most beautiful trails, and my practice blends modern science—nutrigenomics, lab data, functional nutrition—with the ancient wisdom of plants and seasonal rhythms. I work mostly with women: restoring energy, balancing hormones, navigating burnout, and addressing complex symptoms with personalized, root-cause care. We rebuild their health from the ground up and rebuild from the inside out.
Living in Utah has shaped how I approach healing. I’ve come to believe that true wellness is less about perfection and more about presence—showing up in your body, in your life, in your community. It’s knowing how to nourish yourself when you’re depleted, and having the energy to hike that last mile, dance with your kids, or simply sit on the porch and feel at home in your skin.
And it’s remembering that health isn’t just the absence of symptoms—it’s the freedom to live the life you love.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh gosh—has it ever not been a struggle? I don’t think life offers that option to any of us.
The truth is, my kids have continued to face health challenges. I wish I could say that everything got easier once we changed our diets and incorporated herbal support. But healing isn’t a straight line—and it certainly hasn’t been in our case. What I can say is that every one of them has done better—often remarkably better—because of the way we’ve learned to nourish their bodies and support their systems.
We’re still navigating a devastating diagnosis with one of our sons, and not a day goes by that I don’t wish there were a protocol or therapy that could make it all go away. But he’s consistently defied the odds. He walked longer than any doctor expected, graduated from high school with support, and has even attended college classes. I truly believe that the nutritional and herbal interventions we’ve woven into his care have played a huge role in extending his independence and vitality.
Personally, going back to school—twice—while raising teenagers was no small feat. But I hope my kids remember that part: that it’s never too late to pursue something meaningful, and that passion and purpose can grow out of even the hardest chapters.
Building a practice in this field has taken time. Time to grow my knowledge. Time to develop my capacity. Time to earn trust and build a reputation. And honestly, navigating the current landscape—where wellness is both over-simplified and over-complicated, depending on where you look—has been its own kind of challenge. There’s so much noise out there. But I’ve learned to keep coming back to what I know to be true: that healing is personal, layered, and always worth the effort.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
At its core, my work is about helping people feel well again—deeply, sustainably, and in a way that feels like coming home to themselves. I’m an Integrative Herbalist and Certified Nutrition Specialist with a Master’s in Clinical Nutrition, and I specialize in complex and chronic conditions—especially those that conventional medicine often overlooks or oversimplifies.
Through my practice, I work one-on-one with women navigating hormone transitions, burnout, autoimmunity, and stubborn symptoms that don’t seem to respond to a standard approach. I combine the best of modern science—lab work, nutrigenomics, and evidence-based nutrition—with time-honored herbal traditions rooted in multiple systems of medicine, including Western, Chinese, and Ayurvedic. I’ve even trained in TCM hospitals in China, which deeply shaped how I approach both the art and science of healing.
What sets my work apart is how personalized it is. There’s no one-size-fits-all here. I spend time with my clients, often uncovering the “why” behind symptoms they’ve struggled with for years. Then we build sustainable protocols using therapeutic foods, herbal strategies, lifestyle support, and mindset shifts that actually fit into their lives. I’m known for being both nurturing and deeply nerdy—I’ll teach you the science behind what we’re doing while also helping you trust your body again.
In addition to one-on-one work, I offer group programs, functional nutrition testing, DNA-based wellness blueprints, and seasonal herbal medicine and women’s hormone health workshops. I also speak and teach locally and offer cooking demos for companies and communities looking to bring more depth and clarity to their wellness offerings.
What I’m most proud of brand-wise is the trust I’ve built. My clients know they’ll be heard, taken seriously, and given a plan that empowers—not overwhelms. My brand is about restoration—restoring energy, balance, and a sense of possibility.
Whether someone is feeling completely lost in their health journey or just wants to fine-tune and optimize, I want readers to know that healing is possible. It may not be linear, and it may not be fast, but it’s real—and they don’t have to go it alone.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Absolutely. At the heart of my work is a deep belief that wellness should give you more life—not more restrictions. I’ve been teaching dance for over 30 years, including the past 7 years here in Utah, and I’m also an avid hiker. In order to keep moving my body in nature and on the dance floor I’ve had to start lifting weights several days a week to stay strong and I have a daily meditation practice as well. All of these practices are a constant effort to stay connected, grounded, and strong enough to keep showing up for my family, my clients, and myself.
These practices remind me daily why I do what I do. I want to be hiking beyond my 70s. I want to keep dancing as long as possible. And I want that for the women I work with too—to feel energized, clear-headed, and capable of doing the things they love, not just checking boxes for their health.
That’s what this work is really about: reclaiming vitality, building resilience, and making wellness something you live and love—not something you dread.
Pricing:
- $300-1500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shelleyswapp.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shelleyswapp/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shell.e.swapp
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wellness-restoration-project/id1546118587
