Hello! I am glad you have stopped by!

I joined the United States Air Force in 2021, and I am dedicated to optimizing my health so I can give the best I have for 100% of the time that I am in. So much of our health is diet and exercise, but the other part is not spoken about a lot… the products we use. None of the products I mention on this blog are endorsed by the United States Air Force, but I am hoping that my journey helps others whether they are in the service or not. Let’s upgrade our health together!

How my journey began…

My husband has anxiety, depression and PTSD.

We know what it is like, my husband and I, to live under the fear of a sudden attack. To have a constant cloud of darkness looming over his mind. To not be able to tolerate driving in heavy traffic for fear that his heart might begin to pound out of his chest…that his body would begin to shake, and the world would start to feel like it was closing in. The suffocating feeling of uncontrolled worst case scenario thoughts that just won’t stop.

Worst of all, it affected his self-confidence. Convinced that he was sub-par for feeling this way. Helplessness was a constant companion, because an attack could strike at any moment without warning. Already having depression, this made it even deeper. He would feel worthless, because every day functioning felt like it was impossible.

Medication was portrayed as the only option.

In one of the highest doses of an antidepressant that was prescribed while he was in the military numbed the pain, but it clouded his personality. His care level was nada. Forgetfulness was common. As soon as it took affect, lackadaisical decisions would follow.

We knew that there had to be another way… the picture was incomplete. Why was his body attacking his mind and spirit? Was it written by his DNA? Was he stuck like this, fending off attack after attack forever? Or was all this just a desperate cry for help?”

A wise person once said that “Our DNA loads the gun, our circumstances pull the trigger.” So we delved in, trying to learn as much as we could about the body and the brain.

Then we came upon a ray of hope.

The turning point in our journey came as a eureka moment. Food additives, artificial colors, artificial and “natural” flavors, heavy metals, processed oils, sugar and sugar substitutes, common preservatives… and so many more all cause one thing in our body: Inflammation. And what is the primary trigger for anxiety and depression? Yes, you guessed it! The self-preservation function of the body. Control the inflammation, control the symptoms.

We had the knowledge, but we still had to put it to the test! This lead to a radical change of lifestyle. Cutting out foods that cause inflammation, adding foods that fight it and provide necessary nutrients and vitamins. My husband began to notice a radical difference. But I was determined to go even deeper.

As someone who has worked with personal products in the fashion industry, I knew that just changing the inside wasn’t the entire picture.

I set out to study what exactly was in our daily self-care routine… and explore our body’s largest organ: the skin. More importantly, I set out to see what exactly was in our soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lipstick, perfume, nail polish, lotion and foundation.

Our skin absorbs 60% of what we put on it in a matter of seconds.

Unlike the toxins that we ingest, these go straight to the blood stream. What is most alarming was that the closer I looked at the average beauty and personal care product in the US, the more disgustingly dirty they appeared. All of these ingredients that you can barely read cause inflammation from carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and “fragrances” can be any undisclosed concoction of chemicals.

Use healthy products not harmful ones.

Since then, both my husband and I have implemented a cleaner routine not only with our eating, but also a careful assessment of our personal products. As a result, my husband has been able to ease off of all his medication. And although anxiety and depression are still very much a part of our lives, they no longer have dominion.

I will never go back.

Now that I have had a totally clean personal product routine, I have been able to tell a massive difference and will never go back. My skin was always prone to reacting to the things I put on it. Not anymore. I have learned to listen to my body, and when my skin began to break out, I know it is trying to tell me that something isn’t right. Another positive side effect is that my hair has become thicker, and grown faster than I’ve ever been able to before.

For my husband, his body communicates to him through his mental health. If his anxiety, depression or lack of drive appear, we know that we need to evaluate what he came into contact with the previous day. We also know the easy things we can do to immediately take the edge off as his body and mind recover.

My mission

 My husband always felt alone in his struggle. He felt like no one was like him, that they wouldn’t understand. What we learned was that one in six people in the united states are on some sort of anti-depressant. That is an alarming number! So many of the people that we know are silently struggling with feeling trapped by their own mind. It is my mission to reach them with a message of hope. The foods you eat and the products you use make all the difference in the world… I want to help people upgrade their health and make that smile a real one!