I have had an interest in nutrition and natural remedies for as long as I can remember. My mom has been my ultimate inspiration for healthy living because she has always strived to live the healthiest life she can. I’ve been inspired by how she cooks a variety of foods, has a knowledge of natural remedies, and on the mental health side, encourages reading and learning. She drank kombucha years before it was cool and has been using essential oils for as long as I can remember. So, I have been following in her footsteps, trying to learn and be aware of various areas of wellness.
Living healthy was mainly just a hobby of mine until I faced serious wellness setbacks. The first was Contact Dermatitis. It has taken three, long years to figure out why my body reacts to certain things. I was originally told that the painful skin rash, on my face, eyelids, and neck was Eczema and would simply “go away” with the use of a steroid cream. That was completely false, and I was told that by five different doctors. This fall, I was told that instead of Eczema, I had Contact Dermatitis, which is curable if the source of irritation is found and avoided. Regular medical doctors were unable, time and time again, to help me pin-point those irritants. Some even told me it would never go away. I continued using various steroid creams, and the rash would go away temporarily, but it would always reappear after a month or so. After a lot of frustration wondering why it kept coming back, I stopped using all of the creams and went to a holistic doctor that gave me nutritional and herbal supplements to fight it. I finally saw improvement. I found out that several organs in my body were not working properly and that I had to avoid nightshades and dairy products. So, through the guidance of various holistic doctors and following the Autoimmune Paleo Diet for a couple months, I was finally able to rid my body of the painful dermatitis.
Another difficult set back was a back injury last summer that prevented me from working out for 8 months. I could barely walk or bend for about a month, and for the rest of the time I felt very sluggish and (obviously) out of shape. Jacob had to do so much for me when I couldn’t bend or lift that month. It was a huge learning process, having to let him serve me more than my stubborn-self wanted him to. It’s hard to let someone help you with a movement you’ve been able to do for as long as you can remember! Through a lot of physical therapy, cupping, massage, and even some dry needling, I have recovered a lot and have been able to do more regular exercises. Pilates and Barre have been my go-tos because they are great exercises for back and core strength that I so desperately need.
Spiritually, this stuff really effected my relationship with God. Both health struggles drove me to be bitter and resent God for letting my young body go through so much pain. It affected my relationship with Jacob because I was extremely irritable and uncomfortable for much of our first year of marriage. I later learned that contact dermatitis can affect anxiety and mood, as was very evident in my life. Both conditions were mainly invisible to other people, so no one knew the pain I was in except for people really close to me. I felt misunderstood and often anxious because of that. God taught me a lot through the pain. I think he used it as a reminder for me to live with eternity on my mind – that I won’t have to live in this body forever! He also convicted me to be thankful; thankful for what health I did have and for how he was refining me, even through the most painful scenarios in life, to be more like him.
The body is fascinating. God created the body in a way where it can heal itself. So often we try to stuff it with pills (and slather ourselves in steroid creams…) instead of learning to read and trust the knowledge our body systems have. In my current Nutrition Therapy Practitioner training I’ve been learning how much every aspect of our body, even our mind, is affected by the nutrients we give it (or don’t give it). I am passionate about the uniqueness of each person’s wellness needs (bio-individuality) – we don’t all have to drink kombucha, eat chia seed pudding, and love matcha lattes to reach optimal wellness. Some of us may need more fats, proteins, carbs, etc. than others. There is so much to learn about each individual’s body, it’s amazing! As I learn more in my nutrition therapy training, I hope to dig deeper into this topic and help others with that knowledge.
So here I am. Still wanting to learn more about how to thrive in this one life I’m given on earth,
to ultimately glorify my savior who died for me (and you), and I hope you’ll join me in the process.
Kass