Today we’d like to introduce you to Yana Sifford.
Hi Yana, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My path into functional medicine was definitely not a straight line.
Before healthcare, I actually started in a completely different field. I earned my Master’s degree in Foreign Languages and worked in translation and interpreting. I speak multiple languages, including Russian, English, and German. Over the years I explored different career paths, worked in retail, and eventually entered conventional healthcare, always trying to find work that truly felt meaningful and aligned.
Looking back now, I think I was searching for what really lit a fire in me.
Everything changed after becoming a mother and experiencing my own health struggles. After giving birth, I dealt with hormonal imbalances, postpartum depression, digestive issues, and symptoms that did not feel fully explained or resolved. That experience changed the direction of my life. I wanted answers. I wanted to understand not only what was happening, but why.
What started as me trying to help myself slowly turned into years of learning, seminars, continuing education, and eventually a completely new career path.
It was not always easy. I was raising children while studying, and much of my learning happened well into the night when my kids were asleep. There were many nights they were right next to me while I studied, and I even spent time learning while nursing them. Looking back, I honestly do not know how I managed it all sometimes.
Changing careers more than once also came with a lot of uncertainty. I definitely had moments of asking myself, “Am I doing the right thing?” Starting over is never easy.
But now, after everything, I can honestly say I know I am exactly where I am meant to be. This work feels deeply connected to my purpose.
That journey led me to earn my Master’s degree in Applied Clinical Nutrition, become a Board-Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS), Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist (LDN), Certified Holistic Healthcare Provider, and complete my Doctor of Clinical Nutrition degree through the School of Integrative Health at Notre Dame of Maryland University.
I also completed my clinical residency under Dr. Oscar Coetzee, a respected functional medicine clinician and mentor who had a profound influence on my clinical development and the way I approach care today.
Today, I am the founder of Sifford Wellness & Nutrition, and what began as a personal search for answers became the work I get to do every day.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, although looking back I’m grateful for the challenges because they shaped both me and my practice.
My own health struggles after pregnancy were difficult and became the catalyst for everything that followed. At the time, I was trying to understand my own body while navigating motherhood, and I never imagined that experience would eventually influence my career path.
One of the biggest challenges was balancing motherhood, education, and building a future at the same time. Much of my studying and continuing education happened late at night when my children were asleep—or at least sleeping a little more than during the day. There were many nights when they were right next to me while I studied, and I even spent time learning while nursing them. Looking back, I honestly don’t know how I managed all of it sometimes.
It was not always easy to support my own health during those years while pouring so much energy into my family, education, and career goals. But those experiences taught me resilience, persistence, and the importance of continuing forward even when progress feels slow.
Professionally, another challenge was changing career paths more than once. Starting over can be intimidating. Every transition came with moments of self-doubt and questions like, “Am I doing the right thing?” Leaving familiar paths and building something of your own is not always comfortable.
Building a business has also been a journey in itself. As many entrepreneurs know, in the beginning you wear every hat—you are the clinician, educator, marketer, administrator, and problem solver all at once.
But now, looking back at the path that brought me here, I can honestly say I am completely certain I am where I am meant to be. What once felt uncertain now feels deeply aligned with my purpose, and every challenge helped shape that journey.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sifford Wellness and Nutrition. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Sifford Wellness & Nutrition was built around the idea that symptoms are not random—they are often messages, and that it is important to find the “why.”
Many people think nutrition is simply being told what foods to eat or following a meal plan, but functional nutrition goes much deeper than that. It looks at how the body works as an interconnected system and asks bigger questions: Why is this happening? What is driving it? What might the body be missing or struggling with?
I often explain it to clients this way: if the body does not have the nutrients, cofactors, or support it needs to function properly, it may struggle no matter how hard someone is trying.
For example, if gut function is impaired, it can affect digestion, nutrient absorption, hormones, inflammation, immune function, energy, mood, and many other systems. Everything in the body is connected.
This systems-based approach is especially important when it comes to chronic health concerns and inflammatory conditions, including issues related to metabolism, digestive health, fatigue, hormone imbalance, autoimmunity, skin conditions, and overall immune resilience. Many symptoms have become so common in today’s world that people begin to think they are “normal,” but common does not always mean normal. Constant fatigue, bloating after meals, chronic stress, brain fog, poor sleep, inflammation, and feeling unwell every day are often signs that the body may need more support.
Rather than viewing the body as separate systems functioning independently, the goal is to better understand the body’s patterns and support the body in a more individualized and comprehensive way.
True health is not simply the absence of disease—it is helping the body function, adapt, repair, and thrive the way it was designed to.
One thing that is interesting is that I still think like an interpretor.
Because of my background, I naturally see my role as translating complex information. I take symptoms, blood work, functional testing such as stool testing, organic acid testing, genetics, and other objective data, and help turn all of that into highly personalized, evidence-informed programs that people can actually understand and apply.
I do not believe in cookie-cutter programs, generalized detoxes, or one-size-fits-all approaches.
Every person is different. Their symptoms, history, genetics, life stage, stress levels, resources, and life circumstances are different, so their care should be different too.
I meet people where they are.
Not everyone moves at the same pace, and not everyone has the same capacity during a particular season of life. One of the most important parts of my work is helping people feel seen, heard, educated, and understood because I believe that is where meaningful healing and change begin.
I work with individuals dealing with fatigue, digestive concerns, hormone imbalances, anxiety, mood and emotional health concerns, weight challenges, cardiometabolic issues, autoimmune conditions, inflammation, and other complex chronic concerns. Healthy aging, longevity, and helping people maintain vitality throughout life are also areas that deeply interest me.
I am also bilingual in Russian, which allows me to support and connect with a broader community.
More than anything, I genuinely care about my clients and do not mind going the extra mile to help them better understand their health and create a path forward.
My hope is that people leave not only feeling better physically, but also feeling empowered, hopeful, and more connected to their own bodies.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I would love readers to know that if they have been struggling with symptoms and feeling unheard, dismissed, or frustrated, they should not lose hope.
So many things have become normalized in today’s world—fatigue, digestive issues, stress, brain fog, feeling disconnected from your body, constantly running on empty—but just because something is common does not always mean it is normal.
I truly believe our bodies are always communicating with us. Symptoms are often signals, and approaching them with curiosity rather than fear can completely change the way we look at health and healing.
I also believe healthcare works best when we work together. My goal has never been to replace conventional medicine, but to complement it and help people better understand their health from another perspective.
On a more personal level, one of the biggest lessons I have learned through motherhood, my own health journey, changing careers, continuing my education, and building a practice is that growth rarely happens in a straight line. Some of the most difficult moments in my life ended up shaping the path I was meant to take.
Healing is rarely linear either. It takes time, patience, support, and sometimes learning to trust yourself again—but progress is possible.
I feel incredibly grateful that what started as a personal search for answers became the work I get to do every day. Being trusted with people’s stories and health journeys is something I never take lightly, and my hope is always that people leave feeling seen, understood, and empowered.
And if someone reading this is in the middle of their own uncertain chapter, keep going. Sometimes the path that feels the hardest ends up leading exactly where you were meant to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: siffordwellness.com
- Instagram: dryanasifford, https://www.instagram.com/dryanasifford/
- Facebook: Yana Sifford, https://www.facebook.com/yana.sifford
- Linkedin: Dr. Yana Sifford
