Family Nurse Practitioner

Jennifer Kalen is a board-certified family nurse practitioner. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Central Florida in 2003, followed by a Master's in Nursing from Northern Kentucky University in 2006. She has spent most of her career in the emergency department but has also spent time in other specialties such as cardiology, urgent care, orthopedics, and hospital-based internal medicine.

After almost 20 years in traditional medicine, Jennifer recognized there were opportunities to optimize patient's health through an in-depth evaluation of their overall well-being. The center of health really starts in the gut, and if this is unhealthy, it will have a direct impact on such things as brain health, nutrient deficiencies, hormone imbalances, inflammation, and chronic disease exacerbation.

On a personal level, in 2022, Jennifer was training for a full-distance triathlon in Roth, Germany. She realized the training wasn't quite the same as it had been in previous years. What she used to be able to do had become much more difficult, and she didn't know why.

Upon returning from Germany, Jennifer really started to dive into what could be happening. She did gut biome testing to take a deeper look into gut health. This was part of the answer but didn't explain everything. Finally, after some denial, she realized what she was experiencing were the classic symptoms of perimenopause!

The typical symptoms were brain fog, waking up at 2 a.m., hot flashes, fatigue, heart palpitations, longer recovery, abdominal bloating, abdominal cramping, and decreased exercise tolerance. One episode of heart palpitations was during her final swim prior to the race in Germany. Like most people, Jen was looking for a quick fix to feeling lousy. She was started on hormone replacement but quickly realized this was a mistake as it made the situation much worse. Hormone replacement can be a great addition, but in this case, it was too fast. Instead, she turned to adaptogens and focused on gut health to decrease overall inflammation and support the adrenal system. She will admit there is always work to do, but there has been significant improvement, especially not waking up at 0200 every day.

Perhaps you can relate to the story or parts of it! Please realize everyone has their own unique story and deserves a personalized treatment plan. We are willing to help!

Jennifer believes in a balanced life that includes physical and mental health components. She has a passion for endurance sports, having completed three full-distance triathlons (140.6 miles), numerous 70.3-mile races, including a World Championship qualification, and several half- and full-marathons with a Boston qualifier. As she has entered the peri-menopausal years, she has turned to strength training as a staple component. She is married, has two active daughters, and will always be their biggest fan!