Nourish: The Storied Wellness Approach, Part 1

For the first few years of my own wellness journey, I was so mesmerized by the ways that food had improved my health that I didn’t pay much attention to other things.

Changing my diet not only significantly reduced my migraines and improved my digestion, hormones, and allergies, but I also lost 30 pounds without exercising or changing any of my other habits. 

I was convinced that food was the answer, and nothing else mattered as much as what you put on your fork.

My master’s degree in functional nutrition helped to reinforce this bias. I studied nutritional biochemistry,  the clinical applications of therapeutic diets, and how to use supplements to help fill in nutritional gaps. 

Much like in my nursing degree, “lifestyle modification” was mostly this generic, loosely defined term that everyone seemed to agree was important but was basically left up to interpretation. 

I now know that defining and prioritizing nourishment as more than just food is vitally important to your health and success, which is why my clients and students graduate with a solid understanding of nourishment in the following six areas:

Real Food Nutrition

Many people come to me with a complicated relationship with food, begun by diet culture and intensified by digestive issues and their own attempts to avoid subjective sensitivities and intolerances without any guidance in healing the gut itself.

We cut through the noise to establish a solid foundation and a diversity of nutrients that the body can actually use to heal and repair. 

Real foods are unprocessed or minimally processed foods that are as close to their natural form as possible. The quality of your food directly affects its nutrient density, meaning the nutritional "bang" you get per caloric "buck." 

Eating nutrient-dense foods is crucial, but so is the timing and portioning of these foods. This helps in maintaining stable blood sugar levels and supports optimal digestion.

Sleep 

Sleep is the number one way to regulate your nervous system and support your metabolic health.

Quality sleep decreases your risk for neurodegenerative disorders and improves your insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, managing weight and reducing the risk for metabolic syndrome.

But did you know that deep, restful sleep also allows the glymphatic system to wash the brain and cleanse it of toxins, which flow into our lymphatic system for removal? 

You need good sleep in order to detox!

Sunshine

We’ve been sold a lie about the dangers of sunshine, and we are inundated with artificial blue light almost constantly in modern life which plays a much larger role in our health than most of us realize.

Everything from sleep to hormone levels to mitochondrial energy to cellular enzymatic activity is influenced and optimized by our light environments, and each of these things plays an essential part in regulating your health.

Movement

Physical rest and exercise should be about daily movement, at whatever capacity makes you feel rejuvenated. 

If your body is struggling with chronic illness, this is not the time for high-intensity exercise, which causes more stress to an already overtaxed system.

Conversely, not moving enough sets you up for lymphatic stagnation, stiff muscles and joints, and poor metabolic health. 

Finding the movement sweet spot while you heal your body’s terrain means that you’re prioritizing long-term vitality over short-term aesthetics, and you can always return to HIIT when your body is ready.

Spiritual Wellness

Healing the nervous system requires patience and a gentle, gradual approach.

It involves more than just physical rest and exercise; it requires finding rest for our souls as well.

As spiritual beings with physical bodies, we need to take the time to care for our spiritual health. Spending time in worship, prayer, reading, journaling, and practicing gratitude and awe offers the ultimate nervous system reset.

Community

The importance of meaningful community on your health cannot be understated.

Surrounding yourself with people who support and encourage you, and investing your time and energy into relationships that are life-giving is another major key to lasting health and longevity.

Keep It Simple

Ultimately, it doesn’t have to be complicated. What I have learned and what I am excited to teach you are the foundational principles that help the body function optimally and enhance its own innate healing potential. 

Stay tuned for next week as we dive deeper into part two, digest!

Are you looking for practical ways to incorporate better detoxification into your daily routine? My FREE Detox Essentials Guide gives you everything you need to know to get started, without the fluff. No matter what symptoms you may be dealing with or where you are on your healing journey, this is where you need to start!