When it comes to healing your body, I’ve learned that the only sustainable approach is one that works from the inside out. Rather than getting trapped in the up-and-down cycle of behavior modification, real healing starts to happen when you focus on nourishing your body and balancing your hormones. When you balance your biochemistry, your internal environment- everything else begins to fall into place. I know this to be true from personal experience. After struggling with eating disorders since the age of 8, I became seriously ill at 17 and gained over 100 pounds in less than a year. I was eventually diagnosed with PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome) and endometriosis. Rather than undergoing risky surgeries that threatened to take away my fertility and taking drugs that would mask my symptoms but not offer me a cure, I decided to take my health into my own hands and spent the next several years researching my conditions and how to naturally bring my hormones back into balance. Before long, my research coupled with having faith in my body culminated in me losing the weight I had gained and no longer having ovarian cysts- and my endometriosis symptoms have nearly completely subsided. My own healing process is still a work in progress, but I am a million miles away from where I started and I have complete faith in my body’s resilience.
The best way to start healing your body (and any other area of your life) is by immediately taking action. I know how information overload with no real direction can make you feel stuck. Therefore, I want to help you turn information into action, so you can begin your own healing process right now.
Here are nine things I did to start my body’s healing process:
1.) Start each morning by drinking some warm lemon water. It’s crucial that the water is warm because hot water will destroy the beneficial enzymes in the lemons and cold water can be a shock to your system first thing in the morning. I usually drink 3-4 or more cups of water with about 1/2 of a lemon in it- I often squeeze a few day’s worths of lemon juice into a mason jar so it’s ready for me. Fresh squeezed is key, not the bottled kind at the store. You can also use raw apple cider vinegar with the mother in place of lemon juice- I use 1 tbsp for every 8 ounces of water. To help protect your teeth, drink through a straw (I like stainless steel reusable ones) and when you drank all your water, swish plain warm water in your mouth for 30 seconds or more than spit it out. Throughout the rest of the day, aim to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water- so if you weight 160 pounds, try to drink at least 80 ounces of water daily.
2.) Change your oil- few things hold as much power to profoundly heal OR harm your body as the types of fats and oils you consume. One of the most impactful steps in healing my body was upgrading the fats and oils I used. Commonly used oils such as soybean and canola are extremely processed and inflammatory.
Consuming a lot of healthy fats has also been extremely helpful in my recovery from depression. Our brains are made up of 60% fat, and our cells require adequate amounts of healthy fats in our diet for optimal neurological and hormonal function. The most beneficial fats to help a depressed brain begin to heal are omega-3 fatty acids, grass-fed butter and ghee, avocado, and virgin coconut oil. These are all healthy fats that help the brain. If you eat inflammatory fats, such as vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats, the function of your neurotransmitters and your brain cells will be hindered which will exacerbate depression and other mental health imbalances.
Tips:
•the olive oil industry has long been affected by corruption. (If you’re interested in learning more about this, I recommend reading Extra Virginity by Tom Mueller.) The vast majority of olive oils on shelves in the U.S are either not olive oil at all, or adulterated with unhealthy oils. However, real extra virgin olive oil is one of the healthiest things you can put in your body. The only extra virgin olive oil manufactures I personally trust are California Olive Ranch, Lucini, Kasandrino’s, and Thrive Market.
•Store bought salad dressings made with healthy oils can be difficult to find- I usually make my own or use a brand I trust such as Mother Raw or Tessemae’s.
3.) Rethink the way you eat. Instead of taking away “bad” foods, try adding more nourishing foods instead.
Communicating abundance instead of lack to my body changed my relationship with food forever. Using food as medicine was one of the key factors in recovering from my chronic illnesses. I have never once tracked calories or macronutrients at any point in my healing journey. The fact of the matter is that you can be eating 10,000 calories every single day and still be starving on a nutritional basis.
The foods that were most instrumental in my healing process:
•Healthy fats like virgin coconut oil, grass-fed butter and ghee, extra virgin olive oil, unrefined red palm oil
•Minimally-processed protein, especially grass-fed beef
•Eggs, especially the yolks- that’s where the vast majority of the nutrients are
•Bone broth- home-made when possible, but a store bought brand I love is Kettle & Fire
•Vegetables, especially dark leafy greens
•Fermented vegetables- kimchi is my personal favorite
•Asparagus- this is a naturally occurring prebiotic, which helped feed the good bacteria I was introducing into my gut through the probiotic foods I ate
•Berries
Also, the way you eat matters, too- make it a priority to eat mindfully. Minimize or, ideally, avoid distractions such as your phone, laptop, tv, newspaper, or a book. Take time to pay attention to your food and how it makes your body feel. Over time you’ll learn to listen to your body and be able to differentiate between real hunger and emotional cravings/the desire to binge. This happened for me more quickly than I ever could’ve imagined. Also, as my body began to heal I started naturally craving healthier foods.
4.) Find reasons to exercise that have nothing to do with changing the size or shape of your body. For me personally, exercising has the immediate benefit of forcing me to be present in my own body. I struggle a lot with dissociation as a byproduct of PTSD and anxiety. Exercising is a safe, healthy way to reclaim my power over my own body. What about you? Does exercising help your chronic pain? Does it calm your anxiety? Does it help you to de-stress or to sleep better? Does it give you more energy? Find the reasons that resonate with YOU. Also when it comes to movement, exercise smarter, not harder- work with your body’s own inherent intelligence instead of fighting against it. My favorite ways to move my body are hiking, yoga, lifting heavy weights, and high intensity interval training- Jon Gabriel’s workout is my absolute favorite for HIIT. Also, I have chronic knee and back pain from injuries sustained when I was a child, and Theresa Tapp’s t-tapp workout system has been extremely helpful in rehabilitating these areas. When I gained over 100 pounds in less than a year, I was doing hours of cardio daily. I realize now that chronic cardio is extremely inflammatory and a negative stressor on the body. I did no cardio whatsoever when I lost the weight I had gained, in fact I didn’t even exercise at all while I lost the first 80 pounds. Healing movement is not about burning calories. Healthy exercise is about creating a hormonal response in your body that is conducive to healing, and this can be done in 15-20 minutes a few times a week.
5.) Visualization- visualizing daily has been instrumental in my physical and mental health recovery processes. My favorite way to visualize is using Jon Gabriel’s visualization app.
6.) Supplement with caution- the vast majority of supplements out there are synthetic. Not only does this render them useless to your body because the nutrients aren’t in bioavailable forms, but often your body will even register them as a foreign toxin, adding to the strain on your liver and kidneys and stunting your healing. Taking no supplements at all is better than taking ones that could potentially harm your body. However- there are a few that have personally helped my healing process significantly. I spent months researching these supplements before I ever took them, I cannot stress enough the importance of doing your own research. You must be your own advocate. The supplements I take include Rosita Cod Liver Oil capsules- this healed my severe hormonal cystic acne when absolutely nothing else did. A much more affordable brand of cod liver oil that I also like is Beeyoutiful’s store brand. I also trust the Garden of Life supplement brand, I take their vitamins, digestive enzymes, and super greens. Another favorite of mine that helped to balance my hormones was Teresa Tapp’s alfalfa capsules- that is the only brand I recommend, as it is processed differently than most and the part of the plant that others use can actually have negative affects. Supplements are usually not necessary to healing your body- they are simply a helpful tool if utilized properly.
7.) Prioritize both quality and quantity of sleep- skimping on sleep to work out is counterproductive to healing your body and getting healthy. Sleep is when a lot of the biological processes that facilitate your healing take place, and is is crucial for a healthy body and mind.
8.) Dry skin brushing- this helped keep my skin tight while losing over 100 pounds, as well as boosting my immune system. To avoid damaging your skin, only use a natural vegetable fiber brush for this- my favorite is Yerba Prima. I dry skin brush once daily, twice if I feel a cold or other illness coming on. Dry skin brushing stimulates the lymphatic system and supports the body’s natural detox rhythm. Our skin is the largest and most critical elimination organ and dry brushing helps your body “take out the trash.” There are different recommended patterns out there for how to brush your skin, you can Google to find one that works for you. Important- always be sure to drink at least 8 ounces of water, preferably more, immediately after dry body brushing to help your body expel the toxins instead of them being absorbed back into the body. Getting a massage stimulates your lymphatic system in a similar way, so always be sure to drink water afterwards if you get one.
9.) Last but never least- in the pursuit of physical health, be sure not to neglect your mental health. Your body and mind are interconnected- the well-being of one is integral to the well-being of the other. You cannot harm one without the other following suit shortly after. If you are struggling with your mental health, know that there is help out there and that you are worthy of receiving it. There is no one-size-fits-all answer for healing your mind, but seeing a therapist can be a great place to start. I have learned the hard way that trying to bury those things will make you sick from the inside out, while processing them in healthy ways will heal you from the inside out. If you do not have access to or desire to see a therapist, there are free hotlines you can google and call that specialize in dealing with specific types of trauma or mental illness. If you’re in the U.S, the suicide hotline number is 1-800-273-8255. I know from experience how daunting it can feel to reach out for help, but in retrospect I am so glad I did. You deserve support and healing.
I cannot stress enough how much implementing these ten steps has done to heal not only my body but my entire life. This is what has and continues to work for me. Biochemical individuality will affect what types of foods heal or harm your body, what supplements you should or should not take, and what, if any, exercise is good for you at this moment. Often, what works for you will overlap with what worked for me, and sometimes it may not. Above all else, trust that your body is the ultimate expert on what it needs. Treat every step of this never-ending journey with curiosity, compassion, and patience. Remember that you cannot hate yourself healthy.
