Holistic Nutrition
The Whole You
by Wendy Humphris, ROHP I want to tell you a story about my journey along the 'nutritional' path. Now this may get a little scary and unbelievable at times, so stay with me. I used to be a junk food and sugar addict! But in hindsight, I don't really think it was my fault! I just didn't know any better. I was never taught about proper nutrition in my 'home-ec' class in high school. Nothing really beyond the big 3 macros - protein, carbohydrates and the 'dreaded' fats (remember it was the 80's). Even when I went into nursing, they never really touched on the importance of proper nutrition for health. They basically taught us how to look after sick people. I know what you're thinking, but Wendy, that's what nurses do! Yes I know, but somehow deep in my guts it just didn't make sense. I remember one of the most thought provoking books (they made us read in nursing school) was by Norman Cousins. Anatomy of an Illness: As perceived by the Patient. It started the revolution in patients working with their doctors and using humour to boost their bodies' capacity for healing.
"boost their bodies capacity for healing" This blew my mind! The body could heal itself? WHAT WAS ALL THAT ABOUT? This little tidbit of information stayed with me throughout the years. The seed was planted! I grew up, like most other kids in the 70's with 2 parents that smoked in the house, even at the diner table. I remember how the station-wagon smelled in the wintertime with the windows rolled up AND when we stopped to fill up with leaded gas. I was lucky that my mother cooked REAL food, but actually felt deprived and un-loved because she didn't give us Poptarts, Sugar Smacks or Tang (it was so much better than the no-name powder that we got), and so many others survived on fried bologna and SPAM (what is that anyways??) There's no blame here. We just didn't know any better. I lived my life like any person in the 80's, avoiding fat at all costs. Drinking and partying like all my friends. Then into the 90's, raising my kids on KD and hotdogs, because that's what they liked. Not sleeping, working two jobs, giving my all to everyone around me. Taking this pill for this ache, taking that pill for that ache and basically living in a fog through most of my 20's and 30's. Fast forward to my nutritional education (the in-between is for another post). I learned that my lifestyle, up until that point, everything I had done, ate, lived, thought, experienced was a major factor to how I was going to end my time here. Everything I had been doing, unknowingly, was creating a s#*t storm and priming my body for trouble. I gained weight to go along with an eating disorder. My distorted mindset did nothing for my mental health. My inadequate knowledge (even as a nurse) of the body hindered my ability to even heal myself. My extremely obese father had died at 37 of a massive coronary. My mother, who suppressed her emotions, sacrificed and did everything for everyone else, developed a rare form of breast cancer (and survived) in her early 40's. My path was being laid out in front of me! Plain and simple. So how was I supposed to stop it. I wasn't ready to check out yet! I had big plans for my future. I was barely half way through my life. Then I learned about detoxification when I started learning about holistic nutrition. The way it cleanses the body. Gives a fresh start to all the 'evils' that we endure in this world and within ourselves. My long-term exposure to toxins - think 70's, 80's & 90's - all the environmental pollutants, cancer-causing chemicals, preservatives, pesticides, heavy metals, and industrial waste (not to mention all the hairspray) as well as all the negative thought patterns, ALL affect our metabolism, behaviour, immune system, and can lead to disease. They are stored in tissues and cells throughout the body, including the brain, often for years – yikes! Those stored toxins hold onto fat, they hold onto inflammation and dysbiosis. We become used to feeling this way because we think it's 'normal'. 'I'm 50 after all, I'm supposed to feel this way!' Right? WRONG! I even learned that toxins that were dished out generations previously are still showing up in new born babies! THAT'S NUTS! What chance do we have then? Stuff our great grandparents took in is still coming through into our great grandchildren. It is causing infertility in the new generations, as well as increasing the potential for a disease process to appear even before we get started. READ THIS ARTICLE So what do we do? There are many forms of detoxification. From deep tissue organ detoxification and drainage protocols, to heavy metal toxins detoxification, to simply reverting to a whole foods, mostly plant based diet (have you seen the new Canada's food guide?). A detoxification should always be done under the supervision of a healthcare professional and detoxification specialist. Detoxification can be very scary process, if done incorrectly or unsupervised it literally can bring up many harsh and damaging things (both physically and energetically). I often tell the story of my mentor who did a heavy metal detoxification (heavy metals get lodged in the brain btw) when she was in her late 60's. As a child, she had undergone a surgical procedure where they used ether to anesthetize her. During her detoxification she re-tasted the ether as it was being pulled out of the cells and excreted from her body. Almost 50 years later! She cared that toxic element throughout her entire lifetime. (MIND BLOWN) Whoa there! Now I know you are concerned, as we all are and want to start 'detoxing' NOW. But I should advise you to start with a whole foods cleanse. Diving into a deeper bowel cleanse or liver detoxification can be tricky without guidance. Because we're being bombarded with toxins daily from everything around us (and even within us), its important to do a regular 'cleaning' to "boost our bodies capacity for healing" itself. Our bodies are miracles of power and strength and can withstand many, many assaults on it. BUT...there's always a big BUT! But it does get tired, backed up, clogged and when that happens the invaders take their opportunity to flourish and reek havoc, causing dis-ease, imbalance, dysbiosis and disharmony. And if we allow that to happen, if we get to that point where the damage is already done, our body cannot come back from that. Miracles do have their limitations. Start small! Go Slow! If you've never done a cleanse or detox before, I can't say it enough. START SLOW. Because you will feel like crap, I promise you. Just imagine for a moment, 30 or 40 years of toxins, sitting in your body and all of sudden you start pulling them out, ALL AT ONCE! What's a body to do? Healing Crisis The healing crisis or "Herxheimer Reaction" is a natural process that happens during detoxification. This occurs when the cells release toxins into circulation but the elimination organs (skin, lungs, liver, kidneys, bladder & GI tract) are not able to eliminate them quickly enough. The toxins remain in circulation and can effect the brain stem region leading to nausea, poor coordination, headaches, fatigue, malaise, fever, etc. Trust me, its not fun. Those pathways of elimination have to 'open' for the toxins to be released. You see how complicated it can get? 7 Day Seasonal Whole foods Cleanse This is why I offer this program and will continue to offer it. I know there are many 'nay-sayers' out there. And I know there is growing evidence against the whole process. But to me, it just makes perfect logical sense. You can also try to do it on your own. There are many products on the market to 'detox' this and 'cleanse' that, but without the supervision of a trained professional you will be causing yourself a lot of grief and waste your time and money. Ultimately to end up not releasing the toxins you so desperately need to get rid of . If you want to learn more about the 7 day Seasonal Whole Foods Cleanse that I offer, please don't hesitate to contact me. It's now offered in 3 different formats. Digitally, all online at a dramatically discounted price. One on one with a very personalized and closely monitored experience. Group setting as we've done in the past, because doing it with a friend or partner gives us that added incentive and encouragement throughout the journey. Also offered are very strict and monitored deep organ and tissue detoxification and drainage protocols after determining the level of toxins residing in you through live blood analysis and a comprehensive nutritional assessment. Contact me to get started today wendy@twosoulsyoga.com
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November 2020
Wendy Humphris, ROHPI’m a holistic nutritionist and I transform health for a living. Categories
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