Food as Medicine: How cleansing can benefit your health and aid in weight loss.

FROM HER ONLINE BIO:

“My mission is to educate and encourage healthy, mindful living and to help others embrace the concept that we are a product of what we eat and how we treat ourselves.

Personal health and educating others on their health and wellness have been passions of mine for many years. I have had issues with my health for my entire life culminating in cancer and Hashimoto’s in my 30’s. Beyond my own health, I have also struggled while watching various loved ones suffer from health-related issues, including my husband Marc who lost his battle to cancer in his mid-40’s. Despite my many challenges with health, I am so grateful for the lessons that I have learned from them because they have given me the fuel to pass on my knowledge to other people in need.

My fascination with health and wellness began on the trips that I took with my mother to Rancho La Puerta (a wellness oasis that was ahead of its time) in Tecate, Mexico when I was just a teenager. She went to try and remedy her asthma, and I got dragged along. I was convinced that I wouldn’t benefit from the experience, but the twists and turns of life have taken me full circle – now nutrition and helping others lead a healthy and happy life have become my career and I couldn’t be more grateful for it.

Like a lot of us, when I got out of college, I wanted the fast life of a “successful” businesswoman. I worked long hours at a stressful job, fueling myself with caffeine and expensive restaurant dinners. Exercise was considered a luxury and sleep was for those who didn’t care about moving up the ladder. I was going to conquer the world.

Then I felt a lump. When the doctor told me I had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, I couldn’t believe it. I was only 32 – people like me didn’t get cancer. I had recently gotten married and was going to start a family. I was “healthy” wasn’t I?

The doctor recommended chemotherapy and radiation, but I knew I had always had a compromised immune system and chemo could be the end of me because of it. With that said, I knew that I had to take action fast. After a lot of research and listening to my inner voice, I chose to skip the chemo, shorten my radiation regimen and pursue an alternative path. I was lucky to find a doctor who agreed with that protocol.

After my cancer diagnosis, I discovered that I also had Hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s and Celiac disease. I had a long path of healing in front of me.

I thought back to the lessons in holistic health that I learned in Mexico as a teenager, and a light bulb went off. I realized that, in addition to medical treatment, my body needed nourishment and love. I quickly learned that optimal physical nutrition wasn’t the only necessity on the path to healing. I was experiencing a massive emotional roadblock that was preventing me from getting better, too. Chronic stress, past trauma, perfectionism, feelings of not being good enough, poor sleep and more contributed to my state of disease.

I decided to commit to both the physical and mental aspects of recovery. I left my job and began managing my stress through talk therapy, yoga, reiki, energy healing, and more. Well-being became a massive part of the healing process along with food. I also learned that what people told me was good food wasn’t always healthy food. I began juicing and eating a more plant-based diet – within a few months, I began to heal!

My husband Marc and I had the first of our two gorgeous daughters, Jordan. Sammy came along a few years later. Marc and I cherished the life we had created together until cancer came back into my life. But not for me. This time it was Marc’s health that began to fail. Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma sounded terrifying, and it was.

Marc’s doctors convinced him to begin immediate chemotherapy and then two bone marrow transplants. He spent time in and out of hospitals as his immune system weakened. After an 18-month battle, it wasn’t cancer that took his life – it was an infection. The treatment that was supposed to cure him contributed to his untimely death at 45.

My run-ins with cancer showed me the importance of what I had learned as a teenager on the trips with my mother. The old saying that “you are what you eat” couldn’t be truer. Food was the root of many of the problems I saw in life, and food could also be part of the solution.

After Marc died, I went back to school at the American University of Complementary Medicine in Los Angeles and became a Certified Holistic Nutritionist. Years later, here I am, working with people from every walk of life to help them cleanse their bodies and their lives. I have now helped thousands of clients manage various health issues through diet, lifestyle and emotional methodologies. I find immense joy in helping people get to the root of their health issues through emotional and physical discovery, and I have never been happier.

Today I remain cancer, Hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s and Celiac free and I feel better than ever!

Many people think that cleansing means starving yourself or drinking juices all day. My approach to cleansing is gentle and accessible for those looking to renew, recharge, rejuvenate, and maintain their healthy lifestyle.“

You can find more about Elissa and her products and services at her WEBSITE. You can buy her book on Cancer Hacks here.