San Diego Health and Wellness Spa
Our Nutrition Philosophy
We believe in going for organic whenever possible, filling your plate with every color of the rainbow. But health goes beyond that. Food as fuel should be customized to an individual’s needs, genetics, and overall goals. With this in mind, our San Diego health and wellness spa takes a functional and personalized approach to nutrition.
What We Offer
Nutrition Services
As a certified health spa, Cal-a-Vie Health Spa offers on-property blood tests to determine food sensitivity. Genova hormone and nutritional testing are also available to provide insight into other bodily factors. As part of the consultation with a registered dietitian, guests assess current meal patterns, hormone balance, gut health, and other key factors.
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR STAY
Find out tips and tricks on how to maximize your Cal-a-Vie experience. Learn about what new services are being offered that you can take advantage of while you are here.
ANXIETY & NUTRITION: THE GUT-BRAIN CONNECTION
Feeling anxious and stressed? Gut imbalances may be to blame. Learn about the intricate relationship between our gut and our brain and the find out which key foods, nutrients, and strategies can help minimize anxiety.
FUNCTIONAL MUSHROOMS FOR WELLNESS
Discover the benefits of functional mushrooms like reishi, lion’s mane, and chaga, which have been used for centuries for their impressive nourishing properties.
OPTIMAL DETOX
There are many cleanses and detox programs out there, but knowing how to reduce your exposure to toxins and the key ingredients to safely move toxins out of your body is essential for a successful detoxification.
DETOXIFY YOUR KITCHEN
Did you know the kitchen can be one of the most toxin-filled rooms in the home? Toxins can lead to inflammation, endocrine disruption, and metabolic dysfunction. Lean easy-to-implement tips and tricks to keep your kitchen as toxin-free as possible.
THE CORTISOL CONNECTION
Having issues with your energy, weight, focus, anxiety, sleep, premature wrinkles, and low libido but don’t know why? Learn the signs to uncovering cortisol imbalances for one of the most impactful anti-aging strategies.
COOKING FOR OPTIMAL NUTRITION
Learn how to get the most nutrition out of your food with the science of strategic cooking. Demos may feature Paleo Pizza, Low-Carb Lasagna, Asian Chicken Salad, and more.
INTERMITTENT FASTING
Intermittent fasting is a hot topic in nutrition for the potential cognitive, weight loss, and disease prevention benefits. Get the latest research to sort through the facts and fads and decide if intermittent fasting is right for you.
MASTERING MINDFULNESS
Uncover the truth about why we sabotage our own health goals and what you can do to overcome your toughest challenges for sticking to a healthy eating plan.
INFLAMMATION AND WEIGHT LOSS
Identify the signs of inflammation and what to do to support effective weight loss.
- Beauty and Nutrition: Let your beauty shine from the inside out! Learn the science-backed nutrition strategies from our registered dietitian to defy aging and build lustrous hair, strong nails, and glowing, supple skin..
- Hormone Balance: Hormone imbalances can give big trouble for your mood, weight, sex drive, energy, and overall health. Come get the key strategies to keep them in balance.
*These nutrition topics are examples of classes we offer. Nutrition lectures are complimentary as part of your program. Current nutrition lectures will vary.
Functional Medicine
Functional medicine takes a systems biology approach to an individual's overall well-being, addressing the root causes of common health concerns like gut issues, slow metabolism, and poor sleep. Focus is placed on optimal health for the whole person - mind, body, and spirit - with the strategic use of supplement recommendations and personalized lifestyle choices.
Meal Planning
If interested, guests can add a meal planning service to their Cal-a-Vie Health Spa Nutrition Consult. Ranging from 1 week to 30-day plans, guests receive customized recipes and meal strategies to continue the healthy lifestyle back at home. Those who participate work one-on-one with a knowledgeable nutritionist on-site.
Nutrition Consultation
Our Registered Dietitian will assess your current meal patterns and identify sources of
inflammation, hormone balance, gut health, and potential medication-nutrient interactions.
The tailored strategies to reach goals include specific diet and lifestyle recommendations;
as well as supplement and nutritional testing recommendations, as needed.
30-minute Nutrition Consultation
This session is perfect for reviewing supplements and testing options; as well as addressing
a specific nutrition topic, or as a follow up to a prior consultation.
Meal Plan Add-On
Our Registered Dietitians will assess your goals, needs, and food preferences to build a fully customized meal plan, complete with full recipes for each meal and a grocery shopping list to keep your meal prep stress-free.
PROGRAMS FOR AFTER YOUR STAY AT CAL-A-VIE
Extended Nutrition Consultation Package
Extend your Cal-a-Vie Nutrition Consultation with continued care after you leave Cal-a-Vie. This
package includes one 50-minute private consultation, and one 30-minute follow-up session to
provide support for your transition at home.
Cal-a-Vie Cleanse
14-day take home program designed to support detoxification. Includes meal plans and supplements. Cleanse diet program can be started during the stay, or upon returning home.
Meal Plan Add-on
To accompany your cleanse, follow a fully customized 14-day meal plan created by our Registered Dietitians to support healthy detox, reduce inflammation, and provide necessary nutrients that promote detoxification, naturally.
Please contact Nutrition Services for pricing and pre-arrival Lab Testing options.
Lab Testing
Our professional team can use advanced lab testing to break down important insights about your body’s interactions with nutrition, allowing you the opportunity to take control of your health based on your individual genetic markers.
Cal-a-Vie is partnered with leading labs in functional medicine. All lab tests include full interpretation and recommendations from our extensively trained registered dietitians.
Vibrant Wellness Panel
Maximize your health on a biochemical level with our executive lab panel which includes cardiovascular,
metabolic, hormonal, inflammation, and nutritional markers.
NutrEval (Blood and Urine)
Assesses antioxidant, vitamin, and amino acid levels, mitochondrial health, digestive markers, omega status, and heavy metal exposure.
CYREX FOOD SENSITIVITY TESTING (BLOOD)
Food sensitivity testing measures IgG, IgA and IgM immune response to foods. Options:
- Leaky Gut
- Gluten Sensitivity
- Cross Reactive Foods
- 180 Raw and Cooked Foods
- All 4 panels
Defy Your DNA (Saliva)
A series of genetic markers related to cardiovascular, nutrition and graceful aging.
GI Effects (Stool)
Assessment of gut microbiome for exploring unresolved gastrointestinal issues.
Adrenal & Hormone Check (Saliva)
In depth assessment of adrenal health by measuring the body’s stress hormone cortisol plus DHEA.
Please contact Nutrition Services for pricing and pre-arrival Lab Testing options.
Meet Our Nutritionist: Alexandra Dusenberry, MS, RDN
Proper nutrition is healing, energizing, and essential for quality of life and well-being. As a registered dietitian and nutritionist with a Master’s in nutrition for wellness, Alexandra uses an individualized approach to teach that wholesome nutrition is the foundation of a whole life.