Natural Grocers Holds Class on Brain Health

The focus was healing naturopathically

FARGO, N.D. — Natural Grocers held a class on natural ways to improve brain health.

Naturopathic doctor Joan Waters taught the class and highlighted an anti-inflammatory diet and avoiding processed foods.

Some people attending the class say healing the natural way is a better alternative to pharmaceutical drugs.

“I have a neurological disorder that I’m trying to heal naturally. I’m on several antiepileptic drugs for this disorder. I’d like to get off of them and recover naturally,” said Brittany DiStefano, a class attendee. “Nobody gets healed from pharmaceuticals. But naturopathically, you can heal.”

Things fell right into place for DiStefano when she came across the class.

“I came [to Natural Grocers] to pick some stuff up, and what do you know? It was fate,” she said.

She has a message for others who might be struggling with similar disorders.

“When doctors tell you it’s permanent brain damage…that the brain is not plastic… That your brain can’t make new neural pathways, it’s not true. Your brain can heal. You can recover,” she said.

According to class organizers, the greatest challenge for people who want to get healthy is getting the right information.

“Many people just don’t know where to start. They get overwhelmed, and they hear, ‘this is good, that is good.’ Maybe that information is conflicting, and they don’t know what to do, and they go back to their past habits,” said Melissa Smith, a nutritional health coach.

Ultimately, most people have one goal.

“People just want to feel better,” Smith said.

The next event at Natural Grocers will be a gluten-free expo on April 14.