Hello friends! We had great feedback from our last interview with Patty, we appreciate you taking the time to read it!  This week we’ll be interviewing Michelle, our manager!  She is a lover of gut health!

Tell us a little bit about yourself…

I’ve been studying natural medicine for over 15 years.  I think I became passionate about natural methods of healing when I was experiencing digestive issues.  I was not finding any solutions for improvements from doctors.  Eventually, I developed a skin infection from severe acne.  I was told my only option was to go on a very strong pharmaceutical medicine to help get it under control.  I didn’t feel comfortable taking something that might compromise my already fragile health (due to the potential side effects) just to help get rid of acne.

Luckily, I had worked at a natural medicine school in the past where I learned about different natural healing modalities.  I also went to Elite (the old location) and talked to Serena about supplements that could help with the infection.  I did a lot of research, changed my diet, and took supplements to help clear up my skin.  It took many years to make the connection that my skin problems were related to my liver and digestive system health.  This personal health journey has made me passionate about working with your own body to heal it.  It has also made me realize what the body is capable of when you make the changes that it is so subtly needing.

What is the most valuable lesson that you’ve learned since working at Elite Nutrition?

I think the most prominent lesson I’ve learned is allowing the customer to take the lead in what they feel they need.  I’ve found that most people will use their intuition by what they need if I ask questions vs just telling them what I might suggest.

What is your favorite thing about working at Elite Nutrition?

I get to use my skills and passion here- helping people, researching, learning and providing knowledge about natural medicine.  I also love who I work for/with (Serena and I have been friends for years) and I love the community that we serve!

Can you share some of your personal health tips and/or supplements that you cannot live without?

Sure.  Diet is key for me.  My body is very sensitive and if I splurge and eat things that my body has a hard time processing like wheat and dairy, it will go out of balance.  People will often comment that I eat very healthy, but honestly it isn’t because I LOVE eating healthy.  It is because my body is sensitive and I’ve learned the hard way to listen and do what it needs and wants.  I use this same logic for exercising.  I make sure I keep my body moving!  If I do not do yoga or a cardio workout my body will feel sluggish and my mind races.  Movement is a must to feel good in my body.  Thoughts can become negative and overwhelming when I do not make the time to connect with my body and MOVE it!  Meditation is another practice I implement for stress management.  It is amazing what 3 minutes of sitting and focusing on your breath can do! Simple but so effective!

I compliment all of that with supplements that help boost my immune and digestive system.  I do not go a day with my MegaFoods Turmeric!  It is my favorite supplement.  It helps keep my systemic inflammation down (which helps mediate pain) and helps keep my liver in good health.  I’m also a HUGE fan of powdered greens, especially Spirulina (blue-green algae).  I discovered the power of greens while trying to clear my skin.  At the time my diet was not healthy and the greens provided my body with the nutrients it needed.  I prefer them over a multi-vitamin.  Another favorite supplement is Evening Primrose.  Sometimes I’ll get dry patches on my skin and I’ve found that this supplement helps keep my skin moisturized and glowing.  It is also great for balancing female hormones.

The last health tip is working with herbs to improve your health.  I do this by drinking herbal tea.  I’m a HUGE tea person.  If you are a tea person, come see me and we’ll talk tea for health!

If a new customer walks in the store and asks what are two products that will help improve their over-all health and wellness, what would you suggest?

After asking questions about what the customer is already doing to improve their health I will try to build on that.  If they don’t take a multi-vitamin or they do not eat a lot of vegetables, I’d say go for the greens!  I think that powdered greens can be the gateway for changing your system to WANT to eat better.  Since I geek out on all things digestive health related, I believe that your bacteria will tell your mind what it wants to eat.  Eat lots of sugar and the organisms in your body that love sugar thrive and will continuously tell your mind to feed it MORE sugar.  If you start the greens you can slowly change your bacterium by giving the body good nutrients.  The bacteria that thrive on those nutrients will now tell your mind it wants nutrient dense food!  Food for thought (pun intended)!  Probiotics are also something I suggest a lot– since they are great for gut health as well as immune system.  When you have good gut health you’ll have over-all good health!

If someone is feeling sick and they’re needing something to boost the immune system I will also suggest Vitamin D3.  Most people are low in Vitamin D3 and the immune system needs it in order to function properly.

Long story short, everyone is different and like Patty said– health can be subjective.  Luckily, the benefit of Elite is having us at your leisure to talk about what can help you specifically to improve your health.

Fun Fact about Michelle: She writes the Elite Health Tips every week.  (Technically I interviewed myself here.) She also loves when people give her inspiration on what health tip they’d like to know more about so we can feature it in our blogs!

Thanks again for reading our tips/blogs.  We appreciate your time!  Next week we will Feature our newest employee Devra!

As always, do what you feel is best for YOUR body — if you aren’t sure, ask your doctor.  We are health ENTHUSIASTS not licensed practitioners.