about me

 

Tenderlovingkale was born out of my personal journey towards healing and wellness. Like many, I was raised on the Standard American Diet of Little Debbie snacks and hotdog SpaghettiOs. I never questioned this way of eating until I joined my high school’s cross-country team. Suddenly, what I was putting into my body seemed more important; it was fuel for my training and I wanted it to burn as efficiently as possible. Thus, I embraced the plant-based lifestyle.

I have had many ups and downs throughout this journey. At the start, I didn’t know how to balance a plant-based diet with the demands of training, and this likely contributed to the stress fracture I developed in my foot during college. However, I took this injury as an opportunity to further my knowledge about nutrition. The more I read and subsequently adopted into my life, the better I felt. Food was no longer just fuel, but medicine and nourishment. A passion was born.

At the same time, I was studying chemistry in college with the plan to attend medical school. However, the more my personal wellness philosophy developed, the more this goal felt wrong for me. I wanted to help people set off on their own healing journeys, but I wanted to do it in a more personal, holistic sense. Right at the end of my college career, I discovered naturopathic medicine and everything fell into place.

For those who may be unaccustomed with it, naturopathic medicine is a form of primary care medicine that relies on the healing power of nature as its foundation. As a first year student at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR, I am studying all of the basic medical sciences taught in conventional medical schools. What makes naturopathy different is the variety of additional treatment modalities we are taught: hydrotherapy, botanical medicine, homeopathy, physical therapies, and nutrition. During my first year, I have learned so much about how the body works. Specifically, my education has confirmed what I have begun to experience: that our bodies are intelligent enough to know what we need for health.

With this space, I hope t0 share my experiences, knowledge, and love for the plant-based lifestyle. More importantly, I want to continue my personal journey, and encourage others along the way, to a more mindful place, one where we can intuit what we want and need to grow and thrive.