Healing Through Nutrition

A look at the many ways spas and professionals are helping people actually transform their biochemistry and heal through food.

The phrase “you are what you eat” was coined in 1826 by Anthelm Brillat-Savarin, a French lawyer and author of a celebrated work on gastronomy—Physiologie du Gout. The book explores the joys and cultural significance of food and taste. These days, though, his famous phrase refers to the connection between what we put into our bodies and the effects it has on our physical and mental health. Nutrition is the foundation of every cell in your body, supporting essential functions, regulating organs, and driving metabolism. As the cornerstone of your health and wellbeing, it shapes how your body operates, responds, and appears. Nutritional healing through food ranges from popular regimented diets like keto, to customized nutritional programs offered at spas around the world.

 What is the keto diet and why is it popular? 

In recent years, the keto diet has gained immense popularity—not only as a weight-loss tool but also as a promising therapeutic approach for various health conditions. Hannah Sutter, founder of Natural Ketosis Group, a food specialist company dedicated to creating whole-food-based ketogenic nutrition, has seen firsthand how this diet helped transform her wellbeing. Before establishing the Natural Ketosis Group, she was a partner at a global law firm, specializing in corporate and finance law. Her transition from law to nutrition began in 2000 after reading a British Medical Journal article on the ketogenic diet’s potential to reverse type 2 diabetes. The article detailed how elevated insulin levels impact the body, inspiring Sutter to adopt a keto/low-carb lifestyle. The results were transformative— by eliminating starch and sugar, she experienced remarkable improvements in her wellbeing.

The ketogenic diet’s potential extends far beyond shedding excess weight. Research suggests it may offer significant benefits for multiple health conditions such as epilepsy, neurological disorders, and PCOS. And, although showing promising therapeutic benefits, it may not be suitable for everyone, particularly pregnant or breastfeeding women, individuals with kidney disease or pancreatitis, and those with genetic disorders affecting fat metabolism. Consulting a healthcare professional is advised

 Spas worldwide are leading the way with transformative nutritional programs 

Many spas are now incorporating nutritional guidance into their wellness programs to nurture from within, encouraging not only healthy eating habits, but new and transformative ways to incorporate healing nutritional choices into guests’ lifestyles. From cooking workshops in a chef’s private garden and vegan-forward cuisine, to menus using local and organic ingredients, a new focus on total body wellness via nutrition is now leading the way.

When Spa Eastman in Quebec opened in 1977, it was a pioneer destination spa, one that featured health-focused cuisine and restorative mind-body treatments. Its founder, Jocelyna Dubuc, is still at the helm, as president of this holistic spa.

Spa Eastman, just an hour from Montreal, is often referred to as “an inn in the forest.” About 10 years ago, Dubuc had the menu reinvented by the spa’s chef to make it even more healthful. While French food is often known for its wonderful cheeses, fresh baguettes, and croissants, Spa Eastman guests were offered many other different choices, including options that are gluten-free and dairy-free. That was because Dubuc herself had experienced what happens when a body shifts mostly to fresh plant-based foods, including garden vegetables, dark berries, but also wild salmon and yogurt made from almonds or cashews instead of milk. “It was a shock to me how well I felt—I no longer had muscle pain or muscle stiffness, I stopped waking up at night, and what I was eating created a lot of happiness in my body,” she says. She wanted her guests to feel just as vibrant as she herself did.

So, the menu began to shift toward foods known to be highly anti-inflammatory, though it certainly  wasn’t a term emphasized to guests. Guests would note that without any real effort on their part, headaches and brain fog disappeared, along with cramps; pain in their fingers and hands would vanish; cravings for sugar dissipated; and persistent digestive symptoms they’d suffered at home abated.

Now the spa offers what it calls Tonique Cuisine, which unites health optimization and true gastronomic pleasure. Dubuc says the menu’s principles remain the same, with dishes made from local and organic products, in addition to fermented foods. High-quality meat is offered, too, prepared through gentle, slow cooking. “On the gastronomic side, our cuisine is even better now,” she says. “And we still see miracles happen just with the food we serve,” referring to its restorative effects on guests.

And in another part of the world, the COMO Shambhala Kitchen at its flagship resort at the COMO Shambhala Estate in Bali offers four-day, three-night cleanse menus. The resort prioritizes purity and balance, crafting dishes that are naturally low in sugar and salt, free from artificial additives, and thoughtfully designed to support overall wellbeing. From promoting brain and heart health to stabilizing blood sugar and curbing cravings, its recipes are light, wholesome, and easily digestible. As quoted on its website, “since the very beginning, the philosophy of COMO Shambhala Kitchen has been about balancing nutrition with exceptional taste,” says Amanda Gale, COMO Group’s lead development chef, who has created the brand’s healthy approach to eating over the last 20 years. “These complete cleanses, though mostly liquid-based, don’t compromise on that expectation.”

“Our integrative approach to wellness now runs even deeper with this complementary approach, allowing us to improve the client’s cleansing experience by pairing a digestive reset with our therapies and Wellness Paths,” says Lisa Manser, group director of wellness operations.

“We need to look at what we are feeding ourselves across

mind, body, and spirit, and understand that we are more

in control than we think.”

—Fee Drummond, author and adventurer

The Experts Weigh In

Learning the hard way, from autoimmune disease to total wellness

Fee Drummon, author and adventurer

In her upcoming book, called Living Wild, she shares what she learned from even her most dire experiences, from animals in nature, and how her own instincts led her to vibrant health. Beset by conditions that included chronic fatigue, tonsillitis, and autoimmune disease, among several others, Drummond was bedridden for several years. What that gave her was a lot of time to think, and she came to realize that to find a cure for her suffering, “We need to look at what we are feeding ourselves across mind, body, and spirit, and understand that we are more in control than we think.” And, she adds, we will find answers by turning to nature, or as she also calls it, the “wild,” and to our own instincts.

One of the first steps, she says, is learning to choose nutrient-dense foods, and she provides recipes for foundational foods such as “Great Granny’s Broth” and “Grass-Finished Beef.” Her children often breakfast on broth, sometimes with a bit of liver.

She is a proponent of grass-fed beef and fresh, organic vegetables grown in rich nutritious soil, unlaced by chemicals such as pesticides or glyphosate, as well as high quality fruit grown in season. To learn more about the “Living Wild” boom and Drummond’s “WILD conversations” podcast and other ventures, go to wildingtribe.com.

Natural compounds have higher healing powers than synthetics

Nichola Conlon, BSc, MRes, PhD

Nichola Conlon, a molecular biologist specializing in cellular aging, is a leading voice in the science of longevity. A firm advocate of the “food as medicine” philosophy, she emphasizes that the body processes nutrients from food, supplements, and pharmaceuticals in the same way. Her shift from pharmaceutical drug development to natural supplementation was driven by the realization that natural compounds often offer broader and more profound benefits than synthetic alternatives. Challenging the conventional reliance on pharmaceuticals, she highlights the powerful, and frequently superior, effects of natural molecules on health.

Through her research and advocacy, she works to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and public awareness, ensuring natural compounds receive the recognition they deserve. Beyond longevity, she delves into hormone health, shedding light on how hormonal imbalances affect cognition, energy, and aging, all while making complex science accessible to a wider audience.

“The grocery store is the doctor’s

office of the future.”

—Todd J. Pesek, MD, chief medical officer of Heinen’s Fine Foods

From the wisdom of the Appalachian Hills

Todd J. Pesek, MD, chief medical officer of family-owned grocery story chain, Heinen’s Fine Foods

Dr. Pesek was raised and educated for this mission— to teach people how to optimize their health, through radically reconsidering what they eat each day. His clinical practice has offices in Greater Cleveland, and he also takes appointments at Heinen’s Personalized Nutrition Center, in one of the suburban stores. He is a professor of health science at Cleveland State University, and his research in longevity, ethnobotany, and phytochemistry has ed him to discover novel plant compounds with powerful medicinal applications. His book, Eat Yourself Super, One Bite at a Time, provides readers with more details on what he has learned.

To start, he recommends 20 essential foods to buy, including kale, arugula, lemons, avocados, and frozen spinach, as well as veggie chips, sprouted wraps, crackers, and quinoa; and green tea or matcha. Eventually, patients and shoppers are led through what Dr. Pesek calls the “7 pillars of nutrition,” beginning with eating as many greens as you can each day, to minimizing added sugar and salt. Learning about plants and herbs was organic to Dr. Pesek’s childhood. He foraged in the surrounding woods of the Appalachian Hills of western Pennsylvania where he was raised and learned to identify healing herbs and plants from his elders. He went on to do extensive studies with traditional healers and health practitioners in India, Peru, and Belize.

“All of the common ailments that people suffer from are the diseases of civilization,” he says, which include high blood pressure, diabetes, autoimmune conditions, anxiety, and depression, among many others. Ultimately, Dr. Pesek predicts, “The grocery store is the doctor’s office of the future.”

Food alters our beauty inside and outside

Nicholas Perticone, MD, author of The Beauty Molecule

Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Nicholas Perricone almost single-handedly caused the popularity of salmon to surge. In his best-selling book The Wrinkle Cure, he unveiled the importance of an anti-inflammatory diet. “It was not readily accepted—in fact, there was rather strong pushback from the scientific and medical community,” he says. “Now it’s mainstream.”

Today, the positive effects that foods such as salmon or other high-quality proteins, fresh greens, berries, and essential fatty acids have n our health are well documented. A naturally glowing complexion is just one reward of an anti-inflammatory lifestyle and, as Dr. Perricone reminds us, “Skin is not only your body’s largest organ, but a mirror of your overall health.”

How supplements can support a balanced diet

Joy Bauer, MS, RDN, CDN

You know Joy Bauer as the nutrition and health expert on NBC News Daily and the TODAY show. That’s only one part of her career. She’s also been a clinical dietitian for the neurosurgical team at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and has written 14 best sellers on healthy eating.

Bauer herself takes multivitamins but was always looking for more or better ingredients. That’s what led to her creating beJOYLY, a multivitamin that supports wellness for those who are 50-plus.

“As a registered dietitian-nutritionist, I’m a big believer in the power of a well-balanced diet. But let’s be honest, even the healthiest eaters can have a tough time getting all the essential nutrients every day,” Bauer says. “That’s where a multivitamin steps in—it acts like a nutrition insurance policy, filling in the gaps when you’re not getting what you need from diet alone. There’s also some research showing a daily multi can help reduce heart disease risk, slow cognitive decline, and protect memory.”

“So, I decided to create my own ‘dream’ multivitamin specifically formulated for folks 50+ looking to age with grace and vitality,” she says. “This started as a small project for friends and family, but quickly grew into something much bigger, and realized it was the perfect time to create a trusted brand…and beJOYLY was born.”

The multivitamin is scientifically formulated with highly absorbable vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and herbs, and includes bonus nutrients like lutein and zeaxanthin, ashwagandha and resveratrol. It’s made with clean and pure ingredients. It’s non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, and Kosher—no color dyes, gelatin, sugar, or artificial sweeteners.