Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jen Pfleghaar.
Hi Dr. Jen, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I knew I wanted to be a doctor when I was nine years old, after my grandfather was rushed to the hospital for bypass surgery. I remember listening to the doctor explain everything and thinking, “This is what I want to do.” Years later in college, I prayed about whether medicine was truly the path God had for me, and I felt very clearly that the answer was yes.
My own health journey ended up changing the kind of doctor I became. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in high school, and during my first year of medical school, I had surgery for a growing thyroid nodule. Thankfully, it wasn’t cancer, but I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. I was basically told there wasn’t much I could do beyond medication, yet I still didn’t feel well. Even as a medical student, I remember sitting in a doctor’s office in tears trying to advocate for myself.
Years later, while working as an emergency medicine physician, I began looking deeper into my own health. I removed gluten, addressed SIBO, and eventually watched my Hashimoto’s antibodies drop to zero. That experience completely changed the way I looked at medicine and healing and ultimately led me to complete a fellowship in Integrative Medicine.
As my practice grew, I started seeing the same story over and over again in women, especially as they entered perimenopause. They were exhausted, gaining weight, anxious, not sleeping, and often being told it was just part of getting older or being a busy mom. My own experience with perimenopause made this work even more personal. When my cycles shortened and I noticed myself becoming more impatient and emotional before my period, I realized I was going through the same transition as so many of my patients.
That journey eventually became the foundation for Healthy by Dr. Jen and my book, The Perimenopause Reset: 28 Days to Energize Your Body, Shed Weight, and Find Peace with God. Today, my work is really about helping women understand that symptoms are signals and looking deeper at hormones, nutrition, environment, lifestyle, and faith rather than simply covering up symptoms. I love being able to bring together my medical training, integrative medicine, my own experiences as a woman and mom, and my faith to help women feel like themselves again.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. One of my biggest struggles actually came from my own health. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in high school and later Hashimoto’s during medical school. Even while studying to become a doctor, I struggled to get someone to listen when I knew I still didn’t feel well. I remember sitting in a doctor’s office in tears, bringing in research and advocating for myself.
That experience shaped so much of how I practice medicine today. I went into emergency medicine, which I loved, but eventually realized I wanted to understand why people were getting sick in the first place, not just treat what was happening in that moment. Working through my own Hashimoto’s and eventually finding integrative medicine opened an entirely different path for me.
There have also been the challenges that come with building a business, writing a book, raising a family, and stepping outside of the traditional medical model. It isn’t always easy to take a different path or speak openly about my faith alongside medicine. But those challenges have also given me a much clearer sense of what I’m called to do: help women feel heard, understand their bodies, and get to the root of what is going on rather than simply accepting that feeling poorly is “normal.”
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Healthy by Dr Jen is really the culmination of my experiences as a physician, a patient, a mom, and a woman navigating my own health journey. My goal is to help women and families understand what is happening in their bodies and give them practical tools to take ownership of their health.
I’m a double board-certified physician in Emergency Medicine and Integrative Medicine, and I specialize in women’s hormones, perimenopause, metabolic health, gut health, nervous system regulation, and longevity. My approach is whole-person and root-cause focused. Instead of looking at one symptom or one lab value in isolation, I try to connect the dots between hormones, metabolism, nutrition, gut health, stress, environment, lifestyle, and faith.
What really sets Healthy by Dr Jen apart is that it is **rooted in faith and backed by science**. I believe our bodies were created with incredible wisdom and that taking care of our health is an act of stewardship, not a pursuit of perfection. I also believe women deserve more than being told their fatigue, weight changes, poor sleep, anxiety, or brain fog are simply stress or aging.
The brand has grown into much more than my medical practice. Healthy by Dr Jen now includes my own supplement line, health protocols, courses and education, hormone and metabolic programs, my podcast and speaking, and my book, *The Perimenopause Reset*. I also created resources around gut and liver health, metabolic health, perimenopause, peptides, faith, and lifestyle so women can have access to education even if they never become one of my patients.
I’m especially proud that the brand has remained personal as it has grown. I don’t want Healthy by Dr Jen to become another wellness company selling people more things. Whether it’s a supplement, a course, a book, or working with me directly, I want women to understand **why** they are doing something and how it supports their body. That goes back to something I strongly believe in: the doctor should also be a teacher.
Ultimately, I want people to know that Healthy by Dr Jen is about helping women become stronger physically, mentally, and spiritually so they have the energy and resilience to live out the purpose God has placed on their lives.
Strong in faith. Strong in health.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
I would say don’t wait until everything is perfect to start, and don’t be afraid to follow a path that looks different from what you originally planned. Some of the biggest changes in my career came when I was willing to step outside of what was expected and trust where God was leading me.
I wish I had understood earlier that you don’t have to have the entire plan figured out. My faith has become such an important part of both my life and my business. I’ve learned to pray about the opportunities in front of me, trust God with the timing, and remember that success isn’t always measured by numbers or how quickly something grows. Sometimes a closed door is just as important as an open one.
My own health journey taught me to stay curious and advocate for what I knew wasn’t right. Even as a medical student, I struggled to be heard when I wasn’t feeling well. Eventually, getting to the root of my own health issues helped lead me into Integrative Medicine and completely changed the direction of my career.
For anyone building a business, I would also say: **you do not have to appeal to everyone.** Stay rooted in what you believe, know who you are called to serve, and don’t dilute your values because you think it will make you more successful. My faith isn’t something separate from my work; it influences why I do what I do and how I want to serve people.
If I could tell my younger self one thing, it would probably be: work hard, stay faithful, take the next step, and trust God with the outcome.
Pricing:
- Visit my website to work with me!
- Go to this link https://amzn.to/45DoHZQ to buy my book
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.healthybydrjen.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/integrativedrmom/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IntegrativeDrMom
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@integrativedrmom
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-integrative-health-podcast-with-dr-jen/id1541507452
