In my quest to understand a health miracle, I began to look beyond just nutrition and became really interested in all the other factors that played a role in health. My research sparked a real interest in frequency medicine – the use of certain frequencies and how they interacted with certain part of our body.

My journey led me to one of the most cutting-edge practitioners in the world of nutrition science, Dr Deanna Minich, who had beautifully blended a Western Functional Medicine approach to health with an Eastern Ayurvedic system to create the 7 Systems of Health. This model was very much based on the idea of colour, the colours of the rainbow representing the various phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables and how they interact with different systems in the body to help bring them into balance.

This model took me a step closer to understanding how my own miracle healing had occurred, but what I was really looking for was a way to totally re-tune not only my own health, but also the health of my clients, no matter what they presented with.

Sitting at the piano one day, the idea came to me that re-tuning the body could be like tuning a piano. When all these notes are all in tune it is possible to play beautiful music. What if it was the same for health. If we re-tune our body in the same way as an instrument, could we turn discordant health with it’s spectrum of vague symptoms into a beautiful symphony of vibrant health? So taking the foundation of the 7 systems as the notes C to B and adding in the additional 5 black keys, I’ve now evolved a system that helps me better achieve what I was searching for. These are the 12 steps that equate to the 12 notes in the chromatic scale:

Step 1 – STRONG & SUPPORTED

To be truly healthy we need a strong foundation, and we get that from minerals. Our body is unable to synthesize minerals so they must come from our diet. Minerals are essential to build strong bones and are necessary co-factors for the enzymes that catalyse the many biochemical processes in our body. Minerals help muscles contract and relax, they regulate tissue growth, allow nerve impulses to function, carry oxygen throughout our body, enable nutrients to cross cell membranes and also help maintain pH balance.

Step 1 focuses on bone health and a strong immune system. Here we look at minerals, toxic metals, fat soluble vitamins that support healthy bones and anti-inflammatory foods. Toxic metals are the antithesis to healthy minerals as they compete with minerals for absorption, disrupt enzyme function, disable the immune system and cause chronic inflammation.

Step 2 – SURVIVE & THRIVE

Our ability to survive rests on our ability to adapt to any situations we are faced with. This instinctual survival response is known as ‘fight or flight’ and is a function of our adrenal glands. In women this response can also be known as ‘tend and befriend’ and the whole new field of sociogenomics explains how these social networks affect our health.

In step 2, we look at protein, muscle and blood sugar balance. Blood sugar balance is regulated by the adrenals and through the control of blood sugar levels we alternate between the two states of anabolism and catabolism, which determines weight gain and weight loss among many other things. The most abundant protein in the body is collagen, which is a major part of our structure. Vitamin C is important to make healthy collagen and vitamin C is also an important adrenal nutrient. Here we focus on proteins, vitamin C and nutrients that support the adrenal glands.

Step 3 – FERTILE & FLOWING

Step 3 looks at the health of the reproductive organs at whatever stage of life you’re at – child, puberty, pregnancy, menopause. Health issues include fertility for both men and women, imbalances in sex hormones such as testosterone, oestrogen and progesterone, and problems that affect sex organs including fibroids, endometriosis, prostatitis, etc.

Nutrient focus is on fats and oils, including cholesterol which is the building block for the steroid sex hormones. These fats also support healthy cell membranes. Every cell in our body is enclosed in a membrane made of fats and the types of fats determine the flexibility of this membrane. Too stiff and the cell membrane becomes rigid and ineffective, too floppy and the cells don’t properly hold together. A healthy cell membrane allows nutrients to flow into the cell and waste products to exit.

Step 4 – ADAPT & INTERACT

The focus here is the newly discovered organ of the microbiome. An understanding of our gut microbiome began around 2007 and it hugely influences our overall health. It can have a profound impact on our moods, behaviours and emotional states. The majority of our immune system is in the gut and a healthy microbiome supports a strong healthy immune system. To appreciate the magnitude of this microbiome there are around 8,000,000 microbial genes within this microbiome compared to the 22,000 human genes, giving this microbial mass a massive genetic influence on our health.

Foods associated with Step 4 include fibre, prebiotic foods and probiotic foods. Also we look at B vitamins, which are primarily produced by our healthy gut bacteria and have a strong impact on mood.

Step 5 – ENERGISED & EMPOWERED

Step 5 is all about the digestive system, looking at the stomach, pancreas, liver, gallbladder and small intestines. When our digestive system works properly, we have good quality fuel to provide energy and we burn bright without burning out. This is where we transform food within us into energy and that is symbolic for coming into our own power, empowered, confident, with good self-esteem and shining with our inner radiance. Our enteric nervous system, also known as the second brain, is located in the gut, and there is a strong link between negative though patterns and the health of these digestive organs. In terms of nutrients we focus here on carbohydrates and sugars, digestive enzymes and nutrients that support the digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Step 6 – EXPANSIVE & LOVING

This step is about the circulatory system, the breath that brings oxygen into the lungs and the heart and the blood vessels that circulate that oxygen around the body to where it is needed. The heart is symbolic of love and here we look at a healthy balance between giving and receiving, compassion, gratitude, forgiveness, and self-love, all of which have been associated with improved overall health. The nutrient focus is on oxygen and nutrients that support heart health, the lungs and blood vessel integrity.

Step 7 – PROTECTED & CLEANSED

Here we focus on the lymphatic system and the thymus gland. Both are important parts of the immune system that protects us. The lymphatic system also cleanses the waste from around our cells. Movement is very important here as it’s the muscle action that allows lymph to flow, when lymph stagnates, due to the major lymph drainage points under the clavicle this can lead to pain in the shoulders and upper back. As the lymph is needed to clear toxic waste from the blood, any toxins that cannot be cleared are stored in fat, which can lead to weight gain that is difficult to lose. Problems with lymph also lead to cellulite. There is a focus here on water and also citrus, which is high in potassium that helps with hydration and therefore supports the lymph.

Step 8 – TRUE & AUTHENTIC

Step 5 looks at thyroid health, the throat, swallowing and the voice box. Nutrients associated with Step 8 include iodine and iodine-rich foods like seaweeds, which are important to produce thyroid hormones. Also foods that help with swallowing such as liquid foods like soups and drinks. The thyroid is often associated with being in your truth, being authentic, having a voice, embracing everything that is unique about you.

Step 9 – EXPRESSIVE & CONTENT

This step focuses on the mouth, including the teeth, oral health, salivary glands and jaw. The mouth is such an important area of health given the impact infection in the mouth and jaw can have on health, for example the link between gum disease and heart disease. With the more recent discovery of the lymphatic system in the brain there has been more focus on the importance of drainage of toxic brain metabolites via the cervical lymph nodes in the neck and the potential blocking of this pathway by infections in the mouth, tonsillar tissue and cavitations of the jaw as well as problems with the bite being out. With the rise of brain diseases this has become a key area of focus to ensure this gateway between body and brain remains open and problem-free. Here we focus on nutrients that support oral health and the importance of chewing.

Step 10 – SHARP & SMART

As the brain is so important and complex there are 3 steps to optimise brain health. Step 10 covers the hindbrain, also known as the Reptilian Brain, the most primitive part of the brain which controls instinctual behaviours and basic functions like breathing and the heart beat. It controls coordination, posture, balance and movement. Here we look at the pituitary gland, also known as the master gland, that produces hormones to control other glands in the body. Step 10 also covers the eyes, helping us aim for sharp eyesight, together with a sharp mind with clear focus and good concentration. Here we focus on nutrients for eye health and a healthy pituitary gland.

Step 11 – BALANCED & INSPIRED

The second part of the brain is the limbic system, also known as the ‘emotional brain’. Here we have the hypothalamus which controls homeostasis in the body to keep things in balance and plays a significant role in overseeing the endocrine system. The limbic system also includes the amygdala which controls emotions; the hippocampus that stores our memories; and the thalamus, which is the relay station for the nervous system. Step 11 is where we look at intellect, learning, feelings and moods. There is a focus on foods that affect moods, support the nervous system and help improve intellect and memory.

Step 12 – RESTED & CONNECTED

In the final step we look at the 3rd area of the brain – the cerebral cortex and the pineal gland. The pineal gland secretes the hormone melatonin, which is critical for sleep and is also a powerful antioxidant that protects the brain against damage. Step 12 looks at circadian rhythms, light and dark, sleep, dreams, imagination, abstract thought, connection to inner wisdom and higher consciousness. Here we focus on good quality sleep, getting the body’s rhythms in sync, and how to connect to our inner wisdom and sense of purpose. Step 12 also looks at the effects of electromagnetic fields on our health, how to limit the damaging effects of toxic EMFs and how to utilise the beneficial frequencies that nature provides us with.

The key nutrient focus for Step 12 is biophotons, which are like nutrients in that they can be assimilated by the body. When we eat foods and drink water that are high in biophotons they help regenerate the body through lowering overall entropy (disorder) in living systems. Disorder is associated with disease, while order provides vibrant health. Foods rich in biophotons are freshly harvested, unprocessed foods and wild plants.