In a world that increasingly champions self-care and holistic wellness, the wisdom imparted through community can be both transformative and deeply personal. Recognizing the rich tapestry of experiences that women, particularly Black women, navigate through, I uncovered some of the wellness secrets that have significantly shaped their lives. These women shared the practices that keep them grounded but also the communal teachings that have been passed down through generations to help with fitness, generational ideals, sleep habits, and overall health, particularly as it relates to digestion.
Fiber is crucial to gut, heart and blood health. While less than 10% of adults are getting the fiber they need, studies show that increasing your fiber intake can help promote digestive health, heart health, and much more. Luckily, as Black women come face-to-face with the reality of aging, there are many wellness resources that can help. Metamucil’s 4-in-1 Fiber supplement and Metamucil Psyllium Fiber Capsules have the makings of medicine cabinet staples. With psyllium husk—a gel-forming fiber that can help support heart health by lowering cholesterol† and healthy blood sugar levels*—these products make a digestive promise that may sound like music to a Black woman’s ears.
Making an investment in your gut health goes a long way. A healthy diet and regular exercise should always be top of mind, but supplements can also be a game-changer for cultivating a healthier gut. Adding supplements to your wellness routine is also a small, easy way to invest in your own health, without sacrificing convenience.
“Wellness is a full body experience,” says lifestyle and wellness blogger, content creator and podcaster Toitime Storr. “So, when you see that you’re stressed ask yourself when was the last time you made an investment in you? Stop what you’re doing and change that.” In addition to the prospect of adding remedies like Metamucil to their arsenal, Black women are also snagging wellness secrets from their communities to support their journeys.
“Consistency is the key for me, and I must allow myself grace and patience. The athlete that I was in my 20s is not the same athlete at 50. I had to remind myself I didn’t gain the weight overnight so how can I expect for it to come off overnight.” —Graceful Melody Harrison, Self-Proclaimed Superhero
“What I have learned over my tenure clinically is: self-care is different per generation. For the older generation self-care would have been obtaining a home, marriage, being a mother at any cost. That was the golden standard. That’s what I find the elders reached for.
A lot of the patients I’m seeing now are having symptoms in their body, but they don’t know why because they’ve followed the golden rule for their age group: get married, get a good job, find an employment situation that you can retire into, have children, and then retire. And they don’t know why they don’t feel happy. I find that what they didn’t get a chance to nurture is putting themselves first, which can be difficult to do in those dynamics. Many of my 60-plus clients have the financial security or monetary access, but they don’t have access to joy. They lost a good sense of what that is as they devoted themselves to their families and communities and church communities.
With Generation X, I find that we were also striving for those gold standards, but because some of us were latchkey kids, some of us had parents that worked hard and didn’t have time to nurture our emotional needs, we’re a little bit more plugged in with our children in terms of emotional awareness. As a result of that, we slow things down a little bit. We have more language around emotions and emotional IQ, emotional regulation, and it’s very foreign to our parents.” — Dr. India Barkley D.Ac, Doctor of Acupuncture
“A message that I received from my community that includes wellness is to check in when feeling out of alignment. The mental load of being a woman, wearing multiple hats requires like-minded community to fill ourselves up.” —Natasha D’Anna, Blogger/Author
“One of the secrets I would like to share with you in regard to health and wellness is the benefits of good sleeping habits. I’m a part of the community Traffic Sales and Profit, founded by author Lamar Tyler. They had a call, and on this call a woman was talking about the importance of sleep. She had an acronym called ‘NAP.’ The ‘N’ in the word ‘NAP’ stands for ‘No,’ making sure you say no to certain things. It may be late night conversations; it may be working late at night. Also, staying off your phone, staying off your iPad, off your computer. You have to say no to make sure you’re getting the quality that you need.
The ‘A’ stands for the ‘Amount of Sleep.’ Now, many people will say, you need eight to 10 hours. I like to say seven hours is a good number, but the best way to figure out what you need for your body is to do a test for three days. You want to go to bed at the same time and don’t set an alarm and see when your body naturally wakes up. Count the hours that you slept, and that’s what your body needs in regard to sleep. Then you have the ‘P.’ With the P, we’re going to say, ‘Prepping and Planning.’ It’s very important that you plan your sleep and end it on a positive note. I like to put a jar on the side of the bed, and every night I put a note of something that I’m grateful for. So, to wrap it up: N: saying, no, A: the amount of sleep and P: writing something positively at the end of the night and preparing and planning.” — StarzTina Wilson, Life & Health Coach
Whether you’re deep into your wellness routine, or looking to try something new, it’s never too late to find what works for you. An easy first step? Give your gut some love by signing up for the Metamucil’s Two-Week Challenge!
