Navigating the Wellness Jungle: There’s No Escape, So How Do You Guide Yourself Through It?
I’ve just turned 30, and while I may be practically a baby in the grand scheme of life, when it comes to my time spent in the wellness field, I’m nothing short of a mama bear. My own battle with chronic autoimmune issues forced me into the chaos of healing in unconventional ways and I’ve since mastered my way around the terrain, meeting and guiding others along the way. As one who’s been neck-deep entrenched in this area for over a decade, I’ve witnessed this space morph from a field…into a jungle. Though men fall prey, guess what? Women are the primary targets, caught in the crossfire of every new trend, product, and empty promise.
In an industry growing faster than ever, the stakes are high. With an endless array of supplements, diets, and wellness regimens emerging daily, it’s critical to arm yourself with the right guides, resources, and education. Your health sovereignty—your power to make informed, conscious decisions about your body—must be fiercely protected. No flashy fad or aesthetically packaged product will safeguard it for you. No influencer's glowing endorsement will guarantee its integrity. It’s up to each of us to cultivate discernment—and more specifically, discernment in the realm of transparency—when choosing which brands and voices to trust.
The only way through this ever-growing jungle is to seek out people, companies, and products committed to being honest and clear in their practices. Transparency is more than a buzzword; it’s a non-negotiable. It means looking beyond the surface and making sure what you’re investing in is truly aligned with your well-being.
Come on. Do you really think the girl with fillers in her cheeks and a Forma sculpted jawline cares more about your health than she cares about selling a collagen product she knows nothing about? While she claims it’s “like, literally the best thing ever” and the reason for making her skin glow, you’re actually seeing the effects of injections, makeup, and good lighting. THIS IS NOT WELLNESS—it’s marketing in drag.
No one cares more about your health than you do. And that’s why becoming your own advocate in the wellness space is so important. Equip yourself with the right information, stay curious, and never stop questioning. In the end, transparency isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s your compass - guiding you through the wild as you build your discernment. Both of which will keep you truly healthy despite all the noise around you.
Why Supplementation Without Education is a Waste of Money (and Could Even Be Harmful)
In today’s wellness world, supplements are everywhere. We're constantly bombarded with new products promising health, vitality, and healing. But without proper education and understanding, taking supplements can do more harm than good—and waste your money.
*cue toilet flush*
The Collagen Conundrum
Take collagen, for instance. Collagen is known for its benefits to skin, hair, and joints, but did you know taking collagen alone isn’t enough? To properly synthesize and utilize collagen, your body needs co-factors like vitamin C, zinc, and copper.
Without vitamin C, collagen cannot stabilize or form properly in your body. Similarly, zinc and copper are necessary for the enzymatic reactions that build healthy tissues. If you’re taking collagen without these supporting nutrients, you're essentially limiting your body’s ability to benefit from it. Instead of being absorbed and used, it may just pass through your system without making any real difference.
Key takeaway: Pair collagen with vitamin C, zinc, and copper for maximum efficacy.
Detoxing Without Replenishing: The Zeolite Example
Another common mistake is with zeolite, a supplement that’s recently gained popularity for detoxification. Zeolite can bind to heavy metals and toxins, helping to eliminate them from the body. However, detoxing without proper mineral replenishment can be risky. When you pull out heavy metals, you’re also depleting your body’s stores of essential minerals like magnesium, calcium, and potassium.
Without replenishing these crucial minerals, your detox could leave you feeling worse—fatigued, weak, and even more imbalanced. Shilajit, a powerful multi-mineral source, can be an excellent tool for replenishing lost minerals. However, due to shilajit’s rising popularity, finding a high-quality, pure source is harder than it seems.
Key takeaway: Replenish minerals with sources like shilajit during detox protocols.
The Vitamin D Dilemma
Vitamin D3 is another supplement often taken without full understanding. Vitamin D is crucial for immune health, bone strength, and mood regulation, but if you take D3 without magnesium and vitamin K2, you could be doing more harm than good.
Magnesium helps convert vitamin D into its active form, allowing the body to use it properly. Without enough magnesium, you may end up with a buildup of inactive vitamin D in your bloodstream.
Vitamin K2 works alongside D3 to direct calcium to your bones and teeth, preventing it from accumulating in your arteries. Without K2, you could be increasing your risk of heart diseaseand calcification in soft tissues like the kidneys.
Key takeaway: Always pair vitamin D3 with magnesium and vitamin K2 for safe, effective supplementation.
The Lymphatic System: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle
Even with the right supplements, there's one often-overlooked factor: the lymphatic system. If your lymphatic system is sluggish or clogged, supplements can accumulate as metabolic waste rather than being fully absorbed and utilized by the body. While everything we ingest ultimately becomes waste, a blocked lymphatic system can prevent your body from extracting the nutrients it needs, reducing the effectiveness of even the best supplements.
Supporting the body’s natural detoxification processes—through sweating, breathing, walking, and regular bowel movements—is critical. Without these, your body cannot effectively eliminate toxins or support the absorption of vital nutrients. As Dr. Perry Nickelston(Lymph Doctor and Super Hero Extraordinaire) often says, "No system works alone. Never gets injured alone. Never heals alone." If one system is compromised, it throws off the others. This is why it’s essential to zoom out and approach healing holistically, looking at how all our body’s systems work together.
Key takeaway: Support lymphatic health to optimize nutrient absorption.
The Myth of Food Alone: Why Supplementation is Essential
There’s a belief in some circles: everything we need can come from food alone. Unfortunately, that idea doesn’t hold up in today’s world. Our soil quality has been significantly depleted due to industrial farming practices and the widespread use of fertilizers rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK). These fertilizers help plants grow, but they don’t replenish the soil's trace minerals, leaving plants weaker and less nutrient-dense.
Add in the effects of acid rain, and you’ve got crops that are not only lower in minerals but often bloated with chemicals. So while it’s lovely to imagine getting all of our nutrients from food, it’s simply not realistic. To achieve true healing and optimization, mineral supplementation has become necessary.
Key takeaway: Supplementation is no longer optional but essential due to nutrient depletion in our food supply.
The Takeaway: Education, Integration, and Intention
At SashaMama, the motto is Empower, Embody, Elevate. By empowering yourself with deeper knowledge and understanding, you begin to integrate—or embody—what you’ve learned into your daily life, which naturally leads to elevating your way of being, which to me means living more intentionally. This process is about more than just surface-level wellness; it’s about creating a foundation that supports your growth and well-being from the inside out.
The bottom line is, wellness isn’t about chasing the latest trends or taking supplements because someone told you to. It’s about understanding your body, learning how supplements work, and ensuring that your systems of elimination are functioning properly so your body can use what you’re giving it.
Take a step back, zoom out, and ask yourself: What does your body need? What makes you feel vibrant, grounded, and truly nourished? The truth is, wellness requires a holistic approach, and no system in the body works—or heals—alone.
Equip yourself with the right information, stay curious, and never stop questioning. When you align your choices with transparency and intentionality, you become your own strongest advocate. And if you’re interested in my approved supplements or learning more about how I healed myself and sharpened my sword of discernment over the last decade, be sure to subscribe to keep up!
Email me to connect for a free connection call or share what else you’d like to hear from me.
This is just the beginning. 🌿
Forever your defender,
SashaMama