We know food and exercise is extremely important to look and feel your best, but we often overlook taking care of the things that keep us up straight and standing, our bones. We interviewed Marlaina Pate, founder of Organically Grounded to tell us a little bit more about her company, her past struggles with scoliosis and how bone broth and bone health come hand in hand.
What is organically grounded and what made you start it?
Organically Grounded is a Health and Wellness website focused on becoming the best version of yourself through movement and nutrition. The underlying motivation for starting it came from having been diagnosed with scoliosis at a young age. Scoliosis is the abnormal curvature of the spine that is commonly diagnosed before puberty. In most cases, people with scoliosis have mild symptoms, but the curvature can worsen over time. This negatively impacts the functioning of many body systems. When I was in 4th grade, I was told that I was probably going to appear deformed in some way due to my “severe” scoliosis curve. Doctors referred to my thoracic curve as a “rib hump” – which, in my young mind, made me terrified and I was overcome by the notion that I was going to look like the Humpback of Notre Dame when I was older.
I found myself searching on the internet for other girls like me who also had severe scoliosis yet turned out fine — but I truly couldn’t find anything positive on the internet. Most girls only posted about going through surgery, and since I come from a Chiropractic family, we decided to rule out surgery out as an option early on. Instead, we searched for alternative methods of treating my scoliosis
Over the past decade, I’ve tried nearly every treatment plan that my family could find available to offer in the hopes of correcting my curve through chiropractic intervention. I learned early on that having something like scoliosis isn’t just a quick fix. You can’t just go to a 2-week intensive treatment and walk away cured, it’s a lifestyle. Since then, it’s become my mission to share my journey and give any help or advice to other young people out there who are currently struggling with accepting themselves as they are and becoming the best version of themselves.
This is where Organically Grounded was born. I’ve always had a passion for cooking and nutrition, but I realized that there was no one else out there talking about scoliosis as a lifestyle in a positive light. On my website, I share low impact workouts that are designed to not only keep you in shape, but we also work on lengthening and strengthening your spine. You can also find some of my favorite recipes!
Is back health under recognized in the fitness industry and do you think a lot of instructors take it into consideration when doing group or individual workouts?
I truly believe it’s extremely under recognized. This is what brought me to create the work-out portion on Organically Grounded. I found myself in work-out classes all the time, and instructors would have us doing exercises that were not suitable for anyone with any kind of a back condition. Even in yoga, you have to be cautious with your movements and poses. There is a lot that can do more harm than good, and it’s important to keep those individuals in mind and offer them modifications.
What do people not know about fitness/wellness and bone health?
As we age, our bones are constantly changing and your diet as well as physical activity have a lot to do with the longevity and strength of your bones. For example, people who are inactive have a higher risk of osteoporosis than someone who’s maintained an active lifestyle. The same goes in terms of wellbeing, people who struggle with hormonal imbalances and eating disorders are also predisposed to loss of bone mass early on. The good news is there is so much you can do the keep your bones healthy! Focus on consuming foods that are heavy in vitamins and minerals, like bone broth! Bone broth is rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, and other trace minerals that are all super important characteristics of building strong bones.
How do you manage back pain?
Staying active is the number 1 way I manage my pain. As long as I’m getting 30 minutes of movement each day, and practice my back stretches in the morning or before bed — along with regular Chiropractic care — I have very minimal pain. I try to also treat myself to a massage or acupuncture once a month.
Some of my favorite stretches for back pain and all-around wellbeing include light walks in the morning to wake up your body, and doing a 5 minute “cat-cow” flow before the start of the day which helps wake up the spine and get the blood flowing. Laying on a hard floor with a towel under your neck is also a great way to decompress your spine after a long day and a great way to kill an oncoming headache!
What are the foods you eat on a continuous basis to help you with your back pain/wellness goals?
I like to incorporate a lot of low-inflammation foods in my diet such as berries, fatty fish, broccoli, and avocados. I also love sipping on beef bone broth at the end of my day to kill any late-night cravings — the amino acids in bone broth are also great with fighting inflammation in your body which is extremely common with people who have bone and joint pain. In fact, for most of the bases of my soup I use bone broth to give it a little extra flavor and nutrients.
I believe that when you have a physical ailment, you should always look for additional ways to help aid your body in recover like through nutrition. We eat and cook our meals every day, if there is a superfood out there that can help heal your body wouldn’t you want to make that food part of your day-to-day life? I HIGHLY recommend adding bone broth to your meal prep routine, I truly love and believe in it and wouldn’t suggest it otherwise!!
