Another month in and while we planned for many new things to come into Marissa's life during the makeover, who knew that two major developments would actually be those that fall under the category of "when life happens" (i.e., moving, new job)? It's been amazing to see how she's handling all the new-ness in her life while continuing to commit to the core energy makeover principles we laid out at the get-go. She's still doing her yoga regularly, she's making nutrient-balanced food choices and making time for eating occasions, and she's taking her supplements. How do we know it's working? Marissa saw someone sneezing and suffering at a recent lacrosse game when it dawned on her -- it's allergy season?! A regular sufferer, Marissa realized her lack of symptoms and sent me and email exclaiming 'I will never eat dairy again'. This led to a discussion - is it dairy, is it just dairy, what prevents allergies? The short answer: everything she's been doing in the last 3 months -- we're removing and replacing, for a total energy upgrade. Getting rid of physical and emotional irritants, and exchanging them with healing practices -- anything from yoga to better sleep, to vitamin D, to skipping the cheese and other animal products, and removing any chemicals or processed or artificial ingredients from our food and beverage choices.
In keeping with this theme, this past month we introduced celeb eco-make-up artist guru, Karim Orange to Marissa (you can see her take Marissa's look from day to night on this past week's Good Morning America Health video). When it comes to optimal energy, allowing your body's largest organ -- the skin -- to work optimally plays a key role. For our skin to get what it needs, it's the same as what the rest of the body needs - food that it recognizes. So I prescribe "skin food" that's toxin-free and organic whenever possible. Just like in food, the term 'natural' doesn't have any regulated meaning or standards. This doesn't mean all natural products are bad, it just means that if it's not labeled organic then the user has to do the additional label reading and even the back-up research (where do the ingredients come from etc). So for skincare, looking for ingredients that you recognize and also learning to identify the names of toxins (Karim mentions parabens as a key one to avoid, and there are many more too on her website as well). I practice what I preach and only use organic coconut oil, Tata Harper, Weleda or Pangea skin and body care; Zuzu, Josie Maran, RMS, Jane Iredale, Dr. Hauschka makeup; Intelligent nutrients for hair. Even my deodorant is toxin-free, Healthy Deodorant from LaVanilla (and works!). Even though Marissa doesn't wear a lot of makeup, the toxin-free skincare will help optimize her skin's energy.
Next month: check in to learn about Marissa's work with fellow HuffPost Living blogger Heide Banks is going; and later to watch as Marissa starts "cooking" some vegan dishes from Candle Cafe (NYC).