Stefanie “Stef” Freeman is an author and holistic health coach who was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age three. She spent years zigging and zagging through a medical maze, searching for relief from daily pain and stiffness. Stef refused a future of surgeries and a wheelchair and found a naturopath who looked at her in a way no other doctor did. He ordered a blood test that revealed abnormally high inflammation in her body. Knowing why constant pain was her forever companion was a big deal, but learning what she could do about it was a different story entirely. It made her rethink everything she put in her body.

In her breakout talk about second chances, Stef tells people why going to Harris Teeter to say goodbye and “break up” with the foods she loved was as hard as leaving her first marriage. Letting go of an unhealthy diet and relationship initiated a new love of life and herself, which lead to a new love of food and a new marriage.

Stef took her new insights into inflammation triggers and did a lifestyle backflip. By lowering her inflammation score through diet and exercise, chronic pain flew off her radar and her energy skyrocketed. She immediately started to focus on other people’s complaints about pain and fatigue. With every migraine, IBS, or arthritis story she heard, she shared her secrets about inflammation and disease.

Today, Stef is a certified holistic health coach who gives hope and support to clients seeking to manage pain and fatigue through an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.