Olivia and I first met while serving on the Philadelphia board of the Younger Women's Task Force, a national networking/advocacy group for women (and nice man friends) with chapters across the country. One of my favorite projects that we collaborated on was a holistic health event, which included contributions from a nutrition counselor, an acupuncturist, and a reiki/massage therapist and skincare specialist. It was one of the most rewarding programs we produced.
The event was born from conversations about our personal health issues, which we continue to explore together. A year ago we joined a group that experimented with an elimination diet to identify suspected food sensitivties. If you ever conduct such an experiment it makes a world of difference to do it with a friend. Olivia and I commiserated with each other about missing the bad foods and celebrated our accomplishments as we plugged along through our new food plans.
We were recently emailing about enzyme suppliments, our love of blenders, and the challenges of sticking to food plans when traveling. We certainly talk about other things, topics that most people would deem "saucy," but I think Olivia would agree with me when I say we also get off on health talk.
Did I mention that Olivia moved and is working in Korea?! I was interested in learning more about her experiences with health and food abroad and asked that she share it here. You'll undoubtedly find her stories intriguing and inspiring.
Drum roll please...
Welcome, Olivia, contributor extraordinaire on holistic-health-junkie! Stay tuned for news from Korea!
