Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kristen Barrett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kristen, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I’m not going to lie. Bringing up this part of my past is painful. If you would have asked me 10 years ago where I see myself I never would have seen this coming. I would have said, happily married to a great man raising two beautiful girls together.

Coming out to myself was the easiest thing I ever did. Coming out to my husband, the hardest.

When I was in my early 30’s I fell for an amazingly brilliant and kind man and we got married shortly after.

For many years I was happily married. I was a stay at home mom to two healthy beautiful fun loving girls. I had hobbies and friends and while at times it was lonely in that overwhelmed-stay-at-home-mom sort of way, I had a good life. Like all good suburban moms, I meal planned and sang my babies to sleep.

But then 7 years ago …. I fell in love with a woman and it changed everything.

My internal world became a war zone as I tried to act like it wasn’t a big deal or that it wasn’t real. Feelings from my past life in my 20’s came rushing back when I had had other relationships with women. But the 90’s wasn’t a time for sexual exploration in the same way that it is now. You didn’t get the opportunity to think about these things. My 20’s were full of fun and travel and life experiences and even thought some of those experiences included women including a semi serious relationship with a woman (that we kept hidden), I never thought questioned it.

I was holding on to the life of safety with every cell in my being but there was no safety anywhere for me, not even myself. The resounding thought was I didn’t want to break up my family. I couldn’t do that to my girls.

For months I was a tortured soul living in agony.

The hardest part wasn’t admitting my sexuality. No, the hardest part was reconciling with myself that if I didn’t know this about me, what else didn’t I know. My whole world was rocked and everything I ever thought I knew myself was shattered.

To make it worse, not only was I grappling with some life shattering realizations about my sexuality and trying to find some stable ground within myself, I was doing it alone in a dark void. Once this came out, in one fell swoop I lost my family, and all my best friends who had collectively decided I was not worth maintaining a relationship (this was a Christian small group🙄). They collectively walked out on me in the darkest time in my life.

I had no-one while grappling with the biggest life changing decisions of my life.

I tried to make it work with my marriage. I was desperate to keep my family together. My husband had forgiven me and offered more grace and patience than I deserved. But it was me who was stuck. I was in therapy. I was journaling. I was parenting. I was putting one foot in front of the other.

I could see no future that wasn’t shrouded in fear. I was so stuck.

Slowly the conversations with myself evolved from “I can’t break up my family” to “What would I want my girls to do?”. Those new questions opened me up. I was able to see things differently. Less from a place of fear and more from a place of love.

I love my girls with every fiber of my being and I knew what I had to do.

So I left my marriage. I told my husband I couldn’t love him the way he deserved to be loved.

That was by far the scariest decision I’ve ever made and the biggest risk I’ve ever taken, but it didn’t stop there….

As a stay at home mom I was now at another big crossroads – walking away from my marriage also meant walking away from my home and financial security. How was I going to support me and this new life? I wasn’t financially independent at all. I had nothing that wasn’t tied to my marriage. The easier path would have been to go get a job and start working. Get a stable paycheck that paid the bills. Instead, I decided to go all in in myself and build a life doing what I’m passionate about.

So a few months later I went back to school and enrolled in a certification program through the Nutritional Therapy Association and started my life over.

My business Epic Health was created soon thereafter and over the next five years I worked tirelessly to grow, fail and pivot.

Starting a business from scratch is one of the riskiest (and bravest) things I’ve ever done. The journey has been worth it, and every lesson along the way has only strengthened my business and deepened my commitment to making a real impact.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My path to this work wasn’t entirely straightforward. I struggled my whole life with hormone and gut issues starting in hight school. I had awful periods and skin and the only answer and option given to me was in the form of birth control. Nobody ever talked to me about how my body actually worked.

Fast forward to 14 years ago when I was trying to start my family. I went off the pill and got pregnant right away. “Wow! That was easy.” I thought. But then a few weeks later, I miscarried and all of my horrible period problems that I had been suppressing with the pill came flooding back.

I realized quickly I was not ovulating. I took what I thought was going to be valuable information that would solve everything to the doctors and was met with very little support. They told me to just keep trying.

I started diving into the research, keeping diligent tabs on my cycles and symptoms and came to the conclusion I had PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Again, I brought this to the doctors (different doctors – midwives who I thought would listen to me more) and they took one look at me and said I didn’t fit that diagnosis. Presumably, because I was thin.

I fought and advocated and refused to be turned away so they ran some tests, performed an ultrasound and finally confirmed what I already knew.

I felt I was running out time pushing 35 and I wanted them to act faster so again, I advocated much harder than I should have and got a prescription for Clomid to help me ovulate. It worked beautifully and then next year I delivered a healthy baby girl.

Another prescription I had been given was Metformin for the PCOS. I had also radically changed my diet and lifestyle after learning what PCOS was and continued on to have my second daughter this time without the help of Clomid.

After my second daughter was born I went back to the doctor to talk to them about my PCOS and how we were going to manage it. Their only answer was to continue taking the Metformin. They had nothing else to offer me. So I stopped taking it and continued supporting my health with diet and lifestyle changes that helped with the underlying insulin and hormone problems.

I’ve never looked back since. Now, I understand what a dysfunctional state my body was in for most my life. At the time, I didn’t know I had options. And I didn’t know how much nutrition and lifestyle could make all the difference.

When I l enrolled in Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA) I knew my own frustrations and heath struggles were going to become my life’s work. I wanted to become the practitioner I needed, but never had.

After I graduated from the NTA, I immediately started my business, Epic Health, LLC.

My own experiences has made me a believer in addressing health problems at their root rather than just masking symptoms. I began my journey through personal experiences and a commitment to find natural, effective solutions for health issues that conventional approaches often don’t resolve.

A couple years later, I went on to become a Functional Diagnostic Practitioner (FDN-P) and now I have a deep passion for empowering women, especially those navigating the unique challenges with complex health issues during perimenopause and hormonal shifts in their 30s, 40s, and beyond.

Through years of learning, I developed my business to help women struggling with digestive issues, hormonal imbalances, and the physical and emotional challenges of perimenopause.

As part of my personalized approach to health, I offer a range of functional lab tests to help uncover the root causes of symptoms. These include the GI Map Stool Test for gut health insights, DUTCH hormone testing to evaluate imbalances, Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis to assess mineral levels and possible toxicities, Organic Acids Testing for a deeper look into metabolic and mitochondrial function, and more. These labs give us a precise roadmap, so we can create targeted, effective plans instead of guessing.

My services range from one-on-one private coaching to group programs, like The Perimenopause Club, which is a supportive community where women can connect, learn, and transform their health together.

I think what sets my approach apart is my belief in creating a space where women feel seen and understood. I make sure they not only have the tools they need to feel better but also the support to navigate these transitions with confidence.

My goal is to help them go from feeling overwhelmed by symptoms to feeling empowered, energized, and in control of their bodies again. Each success story fills me with pride, but what I’m most proud of is seeing women rediscover their strength, feel at home in their bodies, and truly thrive.

Ultimately, my mission is to show women that they are not alone in their health journeys. We have been underserved for far too long and putting yourself first is not selfish – it’s love. Love for yourself and everyone around you.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has definitely been referrals. When my clients start feeling the benefits of our work—more energy, less discomfort, and a real sense of control over their health—they naturally want to share that experience with the people they love. My approach is all about creating true, lasting transformations, and clients often tell me they’ve felt so good for the first time in years that they’re eager to help others feel the same way.

Nothing feels better than when a new client reaches out and says, “I was referred by a friend or family member who couldn’t stop raving about how much you helped them!” It’s a reminder that people want to share good health, and that positive word of mouth has been the biggest driver of growth in my business.

My programs are high touch, hugely supportive, educational and get results. I often hear, “I’ve learned more from you in this one session than I’ve ever learned from a doctor.”

I created programs that serve my clients well, and get them results. The referrals come naturally.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Well I think my first answer about pivoting in real life by walking away from my marriage and needing to create my own financial independence is pretty major, but inside my business – I had to pivot during covid.

At the time I was doing hybrid of seeing clients on line and in person. I had opened a new office space and enrolled in a new certification program at Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, when everything shut down for covid. Not only was I no longer allowed to see clients in person, but I was also now homeschooling my children and working exlcusively from home while doing it.

I learned really quickly where some of my time and energy leaks were coming from so I had to ruthlessly take away anything that wasn’t directly related to the goals I had in growing my business. I got more selective about taking on the type of clients that I wanted to work with and I got more clear with my boudaries.

In the end – covid was the best thing that’s happened to my business. I’m now exclusively online and my clients are loving it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://epichealthllc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epichealthllc/