Herbalism and Nutrition Now Through Well-Prepared Woman

Herbalism and Nutrition will be our way.

“Not all who wander are lost”. This has been a quote dear to my heart since my youngest was born and we dove deep into nature and raising kids in nature. Two things:

• 1) I’ve been wandering for a while, since the pandemic.
• 2) My kids are no longer small children in nature. My oldest is graduating this month and going off to college in the fall. And my youngest is a preteen dealing with all things SHE preteen (I made that phrase up). 

So where does this put me in my wandering versus lost? My goal has been to help women physically, mentally, and emotionally. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’ve felt lost on this journey to pin down just how I can help women. But my girls’ growing up has made it quite clear now. I’m 43, and around the age my mom had a hysterectomy. Hysterectomies are common in her family. But yah, I’m not trynna celebrate that tradition or pass it on to my girls. 

For years I’ve been paying attention to my menstrual cycle, learning all I can to prevent dis-ease from happening. I’ve become familiar with two paths: herbalism and nutrition. But I don’t feel they have to be separate paths. While I’ve been weaving back and forth between them, my goal is to pull them together and help women holistically. 

How can I help women with herbalism?

How can I help women with herbalism, especially when some people might say that herbalism isn’t a whole lot different than Western medicine acting like a bandaid, just a natural bandaid with fewer side effects? (Although I don’t know who wouldn’t want fewer side effects…) I have felt this in person because initially, I used herbs in this fashion. Like many others who tried herbs for the first time, I had just started down my path. My approach to herbalism is different now as I’ve wisened in my old age. 

When paired well, they can take care of the body on many levels, especially when paired with the right person. They can be finicky if you don’t take the time to get to know them and their energetics. But once you do ladies, they have so much to offer in regards to women’s health. For everything from our daughters’ first cramps to ours or our mother’s hot flashes and everything in between. 

And ohhh, the ways you can enjoy them! This may be one of the most exciting parts for me! And what I want to share most! While I certainly enjoy growing and harvesting my babies (since my kids are all growing up now), I especially enjoy pairing herbs in tinctures, tea blends, food recipes, mocktails, and cocktails. I mean talk about an alternative to Western medicine.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-Western medicine. I’m anti-all women go down the same path of failing health to be determined by whoever is in the office today. I’m anti-that happens to lots of women; it’s normal. I’m anti-just take this pill. I’m pro-empowering women with what nature has to share, knowledge of the female body, and healthy habits. Which brings me to my other path.

Helping Women with Nutrition Coaching

To myself, and many herbalists who work with the whole person, herbalism and nutrition go hand in hand, eliminating that band-aid effect. Herbs will struggle to help if they are combating poor nutrition along the way. So it only makes sense to help women on both fronts. To do that, I’m completing the Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification, and becoming a PN1 coach. 

Why a PN coach? The Precision Nutrition program is structured,  science-based, and systematic. It focuses on real people’s habits and lifestyles. It’s created by PhDs and strength coaches (a huge winner in my book). Not only is PN tested and proven, but it’s peer-reviewed, evidence-based, trusted by Olympians and pro sport athletes, and eligible for college and university credits! 

My favorite part of this program is that it takes a biopsychosocial approach. Nutrition isn’t just all about the food. We don’t prepare or eat our food in isolation. We do so based on our biological and physical needs and health, our psychological needs including our thoughts and worries, and our social needs (i.e. family life and environments).

Foundations of Both

Pair this with habits of including herbs in your meals, sleep, strength & conditioning, and overall stress management, and we got ourselves a decent path to improving women’s health, easing the discomforts of menstruation, motherhood, perimenopause, menopause, and so much more.

Hold the phone. Back up. Yep, I added a few things to our list: sleep, stress, and movement—all foundations of proper health management. I can’t mention herbalism and nutrition without mentioning the rest. So I’ll touch on these as well. Don’t worrrrry, it’s gonna be fun!

Sleep Well

I couuuuld give you a suggestion for a herb sedative and say “call it night”. Boom! Sleep is covered. But is it really? Eventually, whatever is bothering our sleep could manifest in another form or fashion. That’s how the mind-body works. It continues to nag us in some form or fashion until we correct it. So I’m happy to share tips and tricks for tweaking sleep habits along with a few herbs to get you going.

Strength & Conditioning

I fully admit that I’m no expert on strength and conditioning. I strongly considered becoming a coach. But I need more outdoor time.  Strength and conditioning are essential parts of my life though. And a major component in foundational health. Again, I can make many suggestions for pain-relieving herbs or ways to lose weight. But I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t offer some perspective on the matter.  I do believe that any movement and strength-building is better than none.  My preferred method of strength and conditioning is Starting Strength. I came across it years ago when doing CrossFit and switched over fully when I saw the progression in strength.

Stress Management

Life is so circular, is it not? If we let stress consume us, it breeds more stress and the circle goes round again. There’s no such thing as a stress-free life. We wouldn’t want it. Just as we purposely put stress on our muscles to grow, we can embrace many stresses in life to help us grow as people. I heard a podcast from The Life Coach years ago titled Embrace the Suck. Pair this perspective of embracing stress as a catalyst to growth with herbalism and nutrition AND preparedness (which I’ll touch on below) and the recipe for stress management just got a little better. Oh, how I love a good recipe!

Continuing with Preparedness

Well-Prepared Woman started with a desire to help women who felt the pinch of COVID and not being prepared for a major life crisis. While life seems to have calmed down from all that, the need to be prepared will never cease. Because “major life crisis” is a continuum of problems we face daily. It’s not just an “unprecedented” event. I want to continue to offer a midwestern mom’s perspective on prepping. 

Wrapping Up Our Update into Herbalism and Nutrition

Didn’t I say it was gonna be fun?! Ok, so yah, a bunch of adult shit to do. Menstruation, hormones, nutrition. It’s a certain kind of heavy. It doesn’t have to be though. Whether it’s ourselves, our daughters, sisters, mothers, friends, or any other women in our lives, we have many opportunities to improve our lives by improving our health and circumstances. And it can be done one baby step at a time. Learn about a new herb, try it out, take a few notes, and add in another. Make small changes in your eating habits and mindsets about food. Stack a few habits in sleep, movement, management, and prepping. But only when you’re ready for change.

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