What is Holistic Nutrition, Anyway? Plus Some Ish About Whole Nikole.

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​Hello Lovelies!!

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I've been doing the Insta/Facebook thing for a couple months now, and I wanted to take a moment to write a about what the heck holistic nutrition is, why I'm so jazzed about it, and how my life led me to create Whole Nikole Nutrition.  

When I was in my early twenties, I began having health issues. After several years (yes - years) of feeling TERRIBLE, countless doctors appointments, and not much relief (let's be honest, really no relief at all), I was a mess. I couldn't digest food, my hormones were crazy imbalanced, I couldn't sleep, and I was tired. ALL. THE. TIME. It was a struggle to get through each and every day without a debilitating stomach issue or literally falling asleep at my desk in the middle of the day. My periods were a joke, either completely absent or coming every 21 days.  My health was pretty close to rock bottom.  Then one day, after yet another disappointing visit to the doc, I hit my tipping point.  I was ready to take matters into my own hands. I began learning about a whole foods approach to health, and simple ways to support digestion and hormone balance through food and herbs. Little by little, I made changes to my lifestyle and my eating habits, and found that every small change led to an improvement in my health. This was the beginning of my love affair with nutrition and what led to my education as a holistic nutrition consultant. I wanted to learn the SCIENCE behind how food affects the body, and share that knowledge with as many people as possible!  A few years ago I went back to school. I became a certified holistic nutrition consultant.  And now I'm here, at your disposal.  Helping people transform their health with holistic nutrition is my absolute passion in life. 

Sooooo what does "holistic" mean, really?  And how does it apply to health and nutrition?  Let's break it down.  

1. A holistic approach to health emphasizes the importance of the WHOLE person.  Want to kick ass in life? Nutrition, environment, emotions, and lifestyle ALL play a part in our kicking ass capabilities.   Bringing me to No. 2:
2. Everything is connected!  Did you know that your digestion shuts down when you are stressed???  Or that an overworked liver can cause things like acne, fatigue, and foggy brain???  
3. We want to find the root cause of a health issue, rather than only masking the related symptoms.  If you want to read more about why treating only symptoms is such an issue in our health care industry, read this awesome blog post by Dr. Mark Hyman.
4. EVERY, PERSON. IS. DIFFERENT.  We are not clones! One person's liquid gold can be another person's kryptonite. Every person processes food and utilizes nutrients in a unique way based on genetics, biochemical makeup, and environment.  So WHY would we treat each person the same?  A holistic approach places importance on finding what works best for each individual. We're working for BOSS status here, not just basic survival.
5. Bringing it back to the nutrition aspect, holistic nutrition utilizes a whole foods based approach to health, with targeted herbs and/or supplements to provide optimum support and help you be the most bomb version of yourself possible. Also an important note: my recommendations are SCIENCE based and backed by reputable independent studies.  
6. Aaaaaaand last but not least - NO DIETS.  These are lifestyle changes, people!  We focus on seasonal, organic, and unprocessed food in its natural state to support the body in the most nutritious way possible.  And we learn together WHY these types of food benefit you the most.  If you want to learn more about how I work with clients to address health issues, check out my Services page.

Due to my own struggles with digestion and hormone balance, I'm particularly specialized in these two areas, but a more comprehensive list of the conditions I can support (and there are many) is located HERE.  

If you have ANY questions about any of this, or just want to reach out and say what's up, please do!  I'd love to connect.  And if we're not linked via social media yet, come find me!  I'm on Instagram and Facebook, sharing some fab recipes and tips for healthy living (and also many, many food pics lol).  Until next time, cheers to striving for boss status and generally kicking ass at life.  Holistically, of course.  X's and O's.