Liz Neel began her college career as a pre-med student with the intent to go on to medical school and possibly specialize in anesthesiology. She became fascinated at a very young age with how the body’s systems work together and being a very nurturing individual, knew that a career in the realm of healthcare and helping people feel well was in her future. She spent several summers in both high school and college shadowing doctors and nurses in various departments of the hospital, observing procedures and gaining early experience.
However, her own health took a turn for the worse during her freshman year of collegiate studies and led her to pursue other creative passions in the department of Liberal Arts, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and Advertising in May 2013 from the University of Southern Indiana. She spent the next few years after graduation working in the world of PR and held positions in event management for both non-profit and for-profit organizations.
Continuing to struggle through her own health crisis with an undiagnosed autoimmune thyroid disease and a myriad of symptoms, Liz enrolled in summer classes that included a course in Eastern Medicine. Everything about this holistic approach to medicine resonated with her. The ideology of treating the body’s systems holistically was like a missing piece to a puzzle for her.
That’s when she discovered Integrative Medicine and its focus on the body’s systems as a whole—all parts working synergistically to maintain optimum health. This marriage of the best of both schools of thought, both Eastern and Western, was something of the marvelous to her. She began seeing an Integrative doctor who encouraged her to continue her education and become certified as an integrative health coach—specifically focusing on nutrition and its role in preventative healthcare and healing.
Liz officially earned the title of Certified Integrative Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in the fall of 2015 and became Board Certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners the following year. She has since founded her health coaching practice, Balanced by Liz LLC., and is thrilled to be working as the resident health coach at the Cady Wellness Institute.
When Dr. Whitney Gabhart suggested she speak to Dr. Cady about joining the team at CWI, it was a no-brainer for Liz. Having witnessed first-hand the innovative and integrative approach both Dr. Cady and Dr. Gabhart take to treating their patients, it was more than fitting for her to begin her career here at the Cady Wellness Institute.
Liz believes in the concept that nutrition is broken into two major categories—primary and secondary nutrition. Your primary nutrition is that which you feed the mind, your relationships, daily habits, and the environment that surrounds you. Your secondary nutrition is physical food or what you are feeding your body. Both are important in understanding a person’s level of health. She takes a holistic approach to educating patients and empowering them with both knowledge and a clear plan of action to reach their wellness goals.
She has an immense amount of empathy for what her clients are experiencing, because she’s been there herself. Having lived the frustration of everything from autoimmune disease to hormone imbalance, gut dysfunction to acute traumatic injury, she is her own testament to the healing capabilities of proper nutrition, improved lifestyle and a winning mindset. She practices with the concept of “bio-individuality” in mind, meaning that each client has their own unique set of needs and that there is no on-size-fits-all course of action. She takes time to listen to those unique needs of each patient in order to help them implement realistic action steps to reach their goals.
In her spare time, Liz enjoys playing the piano, painting and craft work as well as yoga. She currently serves as the Vice President of the charitable organization, the Junior Women’s League of Henderson.
