Today we’d like to introduce you to Brigitte Godfrey, NTP.
Hi Brigitte, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a family that cared a lot about what you looked like. There was no consideration of food being the literal fuel to our bodies, and definitely a lot of demonizing of fats and carbohydrates – but if the package said “lite” it was good to go! I was “encouraged” to go on my first calorie deficit diet at the age of 12 and continued my toxic relationship with food through high school. After moving out of the house in college I put forth a serious amount of efforts to re-wire my thoughts around high fat and high carbohydrate natural foods like avocados and bananas. It was my form of becoming my own person and “rebelling”, I suppose. I got really into unique foods in Orlando, Florida (a great city for foodie’s if you are looking to branch out from Portland) and loved being known by my friends as a walking Yelp advisor.
Life continued to move along as it does, and I found myself as a 24-year-old crippled over in pain in my lower abdomen and some not-so-cute other symptoms I won’t mention here. I went to my doctor who told me it could be cancer and set me up with a gastroenterologist. I had my first colonoscopy a couple of weeks later and was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. The GI sat me down with my prescription bottle and said something along the lines of “take these for life and come in for routine exams and you’ll hopefully be good”. I distinctly remember asking, already thinking I knew the answer, if I needed to change my diet or stop drinking alcohol. Can you blame a 24-year-old? His answer shocked me. He said no, it has nothing to do with what you eat or drink, just stay on the medication and you’ll be good.” I knew immediately he was wrong. Not because I had any of the education I have now, but because the very core of my being knew that this wasn’t the way I was supposed to live. I knew that my body was strong and I was determined to not rely on medication. I knew I could be healthy again. I have spent the last 12 years learning from Integrative, Functional and Naturopathic Practitioners that I was right.
I chose to study nutrition after seeing my body maintain remission without medication for over a year cutting out certain inflammatory foods. I have since had two beautiful children who are 4 (Lynnley) and 2 (Wyatt) who both have intestinal permeability (leaky gut) that developed into Mast Cell Syndrome for Wyatt. He was the best, chillest, little dude until about 2-months-old and then every single nap and night was a nightmare of gas and screaming for hours and hours along with really sad eczema covering his little body. I could not figure out what was wrong. I was doing all the “right” things… and I am really good at doing the “right” things as a Type A personality. I was breastfeeding him; I already didn’t eat eggs, dairy, or gluten, and I was only using the cleanest products for his skin. I eventually was led to a nutritionist who specialized in breastfeeding mom’s and babies. She helped me through a super tough elimination diet that made the screaming and gas subside. I thought I knew grief when I was saying “goodbye” to my own health as a 24-year-old and then again when I said goodbye to being the girl who knew all the best places to eat and loved exploring through food. But there is another level of heartache when you are watching your babies struggle so innocently with their bodies and know that this isn’t the way it was supposed to be.
If your own story isn’t enough fuel to help others, your children will be!
I started school at the Nutritional Therapy Association in February of 2025 shortly after my son turned 1 and since graduating, it has been my mission to help adults and children live a life of freedom from digestive pain.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. HA! But is anything in life worth fighting for easy? I started my formal education in February and at the end of March, my husband was let go of his job. I tried taking on some external work alongside of being a full-time mom and being in school, but I ended up running myself into the ground on the home stretch. I knew better at this point that stress is a huge driver of inflammation and auto-immune disease, but I felt backed into the corner. I was experiencing panic attacks, severe eczema on my hands and neck, night sweats, as well as a minor flare-up with the Ulcerative Colitis. The financial stress has probably been the biggest stressor but I am confident that when I look back on my life, every part of the story will work out for good.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My practice provides Nutritional Therapy support to adults and children struggling with digestive dysfunction. This can look like literal pain in your body, brain fog, depression, anxiety, ADHD, eczema, honestly if something feels off it probably is a gut issue!
I spend hours pouring over the intake paperwork and food and mood journals to formulate a bio-individual plan for each meeting I have with my clients. I will utilize stool testing (with the most advanced technology on the market) if I think it would be helpful to navigate the framework for my plan. I often find it useful for my pediatric clients who have a harder time explaining symptoms or adult clients who are not working with a Functional or Naturopathic Doctor. For each meeting I have, I provide recommendations split into diet and lifestyle habits to integrate into my clients lives until we meet again. If necessary, I will use supplements to aid in the healing process, but my goal is always to do a food-first approach. My recommendations are based on the foundations of blood sugar regulation, nutrition, digestion, movement, sleep and stress.
I love that I get to spend ample amounts of time with my clients in the Blueprint Introductory Session getting to know their full stories – including their mental/emotional health and personal history. In every Building Block Session after that, we chat about what worked and what was challenging and I give them further recommendations if they are ready to add on. My Foundations Base Package includes (1) 90 min Blueprint Intro Session and (3) 60 min Building Blocks Sessions. Clients enjoy access to me through texting or email as well as weekly check-ins by me in-between sessions if they book a package for any random questions that come up – Does soy sauce have gluten in it? Can you explain to me again how you want me to re-introduce dairy? What is a good whole-food side dish for a dinner party? An egg replacement for a friend I want to make vegan cookies for?
What sets me apart is that I really do care for the clients I see and they can feel it. It is such a joy to celebrate every little victory and encourage them when a miss-step happens. I love that I get to support people and families and be a safe, non-judgmental space to share in their health stories. There is so much more life ahead of us and it really does feel like I get to gift people their freedom to thrive in the bodies they are in.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I’ve taken a lot of risk in life. Some bigger than others. My mentality leans towards the “why not?” and I am a sucker for experiencing new things.
I moved across the country from Florida to Colorado by myself when I was 22 with just a car full of my stuff. When I was packing up my car to move, I got a call from a company I had interviewed with two months prior saying I got the job and could I be there on Monday?…”Actually, yes, I will be there Monday, thanks!”. When I was in Kansas (literally traveling across the nation), I got a call and learned that the housing I had lined up was not going to work out and had to scramble when I got there. But I had some pretty awesome adventures there, met my husband there, had our daughter there. It was an amazing 8 years in Breckenridge, CO just because I wanted to give it a shot and live in the mountains.
We took another risk leaving our community and moving to Salem, Oregon to be near my husband’s family in 2022. Salem has some pretty amazing people in it, though, and we have been so grateful to be here. The PNW is very cool too!
Pricing:
- Free Consultation to talk about how I can support you and see if we are a good fit!
- $200 – Blueprint Introductory Session (90 min)
- $100- Building Blocks Session (60 min)
- $550 – Foundations Basic Package (with unlimited access)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.foundationsnt.com
- Instagram: foundationsnt
