Episode 20 – airs July 28, 2026

HOST: Dr. Daina Parent, ND

GUEST: Cheryl Cuozzo, MSN, APRN, ANP-C, FNP-C, FAIHM

Cheryl Cuozzo, an integrative Nurse Practitioner, shares her personal story overcoming Lyme Disease with host and Naturopathic Doctor Daina Parent. They discuss early signs and symptoms, issues with testing and protocols, and the limits of the conventional model when dealing with complex conditions such as Lyme, co-infections and other chronic conditions. Cheryl’s inspiring story led her to design an integrative foundational healing program for her patients that she based off of the holistic care that helped her recover from Lyme. Both practitioners share diet, lifestyle, supplementation and herbal remedies that support the multisystem recovery process from complex conditions.

Cheryl Cuozzo, MSN, APRN, ANP-C, FNP-C, FAIHM, is a dual Master’s–prepared clinician with graduate degrees in Nursing Education and Nurse Practitioner studies. She is double board-certified as an Adult and Family Nurse Practitioner and is a Fellow of the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (FAIHM). Cheryl is the first and only Nurse Practitioner in Connecticut to earn FAIHM distinction. 

Cheryl’s work emphasizes foundational nutrition, neuroimmune regulation, detoxification support, and whole-body lifestyle strategies. She is the founder of Intentional Wellness, a worldwide virtual consulting platform born from her Connecticut-based practice, Cuozzo Health Integrative Medicine. Having personally recovered from Lyme disease using integrative, non-drug approaches, her clinical focus centers on supporting individuals with Lyme disease, co-infections, and other complex, multisystem chronic conditions.

Podcast Summary

• 2:00 Cheryl’s personal Journey with Lyme: early symptoms and signs
• 5:25 Cheryl’s personal Journey with Lyme: Laboratory testing discrepancies and working Dr. Sensenig
• 10:28  Cheryl’s personal Journey with Lyme: Navigating conventional and holistic strategies
• 13:15 Five Healing Foundations: integrative strategies as the foundation of Cheryl’s practice, modeled after her own experience
• 18:30 The importance of whole food nutrition in the healing process
• 19:12 The importance of starting a detoxification/purification protocol with a qualified healthcare practitioner before incorporating strong herbs to address Lyme
• 24:05 Targeted movement and regenerative sleep as part of the healing process
• 33:54 Neuroimmune and Endocrine regulation
• 35:42 Herbal supplementation for energy and nervous system regulation
• 37:28 Toxic load reduction – through a focus on diet, personal and household care products, and detoxification/purification
• 42:26 Clinical tip: prescribing lifestyle and sleep recommendations to patients for greater compliance
• 45:21 Integrative care as a Nurse Practitioner: Differences between the conventional model and an integrative approach
• 49:22 Dr. Sensenig quote “The minute you reduce medicine to protocols you remove the patient from the equation” – looking at each person as an individual
• 50:03 Supplements and herbal remedies for neuroinflammation in Long COVID and EBV antibody reactivations
• 52:17 Supplementation and herbals for Lyme coinfections
• 54:09 Timeline for working with long COVID – when do patients start to feel better?
• 56:35 Cheryl’s mentorship program – training other practitioners in whole food nutrition and integrative strategies: www.cuozzohealth.com
• 58:57 Shift from conventional mindset to integrative approach – “what’s good for the patient?”
• 1:00:35 Not a one-size-fits-all strategy for Lyme, long COVID and coinfections; remembering the foundation of whole food nutrition

 
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