Creating Strong Foundations for Physical and Mental Health

By Crystal Springe, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner at S.A.G.E.

Our bodies are always trying to reach a state of homeostasis. Stressors such as lack of sleep, under or over-exercising, poor nutritional habits, or emotions such as anxiety, worry, fear, anger can all bring your body out of homeostasis. Diseases and symptoms such as chronic fatigue, irregular periods, joint pain, and digestive issues are our body’s way of saying, Pay attention! I’m out of balance!? It’s imperative to reconnect with your body to begin to understand the messages your body is giving you and learn how to respond to these direct messages in order to meet your physical and psychological needs. When you tailor your diet and lifestyle to meet these needs, it can change your life in unexpected ways. 

In order to maintain balance in the body you must strengthen your health foundations: Nutrition, Stress response management, Movement, and Environment. 

Many people nowadays who have chronic diseases may believe they don’t need to make lifestyle changes as long as they can control their symptoms with medication. In reality, a chronic disease is a clear sign of bodily imbalance. If this underlying imbalance is not addressed, more chronic diseases may develop and will keep developing overtime. 

Even though modern medicine can be effective in many cases, when it comes to chronic disease, lifestyle changes are always vital to restoring balance. It can also help make any modern interventions be more effective because we are optimizing our body’s resources.

On the other hand, medications and supplements could be used as a bridge to help manage your symptoms while you are strengthening your health foundations. 

When it comes to changing food, I know some people become resistant to nutritional advice because it seems like the advice is always changing. Not only that, but many fad diets promote extremely contradictory ideas of what is healthy. This becomes intimidating and frustrating for a lot of people. That’s because there really is no one diet fits all; what is beneficial for one person may not be beneficial for the next person. 

Research is revealing that individuals have different nutritional needs based on a wide variety of factors, such as genes, level of physical activity, climate, body size, metabolic rate, and so much more. 

What I have found to be extremely effective with my clients is a 6 week elimination diet. This helps my clients sift through the information and get to the heart of what works uniquely for them.

The first 4 weeks is an eating plan that eliminates sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, soy, and dairy from your diet and instead focuses on whole foods. A large part of this approach is cutting out inflammatory foods from your diet, which can trigger an immune response in some people. It is great for getting insight into what foods may be causing negative reactions in your body. Then, for the remaining 2 weeks of this class, I guide you through the reintroduction phase. You will slowly start to add the eliminated foods back and begin to understand how food uniquely effect you. During that process it?s important to tune in and track how each food is making you feel physically and emotionally. Ultimately, creating your own unique diet. 

This program can be done through private individual sessions or through group sessions we host each quarter. Follow along for updates on the next series. 

It is my mission and purpose to help individuals feel as good as they can in their physical bodies by paying attention to the individualized approach that your body needs. I am available for a complimentary 30 minute consult if you would like to get started today. I am excited to help you see and feel some life changing results as you get your body in balance with the health foundations of nutrition, stress response management, movement and environment.