Women In Wellness: Erin Stokes of MegaFood on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Consider a daily multivitamin. I believe in “food first” when it comes to nutrition. Food should always be your first source for vitamins and minerals. That being said, nobody eats perfectly, and it can be challenging to get all of the vitamins and minerals you need from your diet alone. A high-quality daily multivitamin can fill in the inevitable gaps that exist in our diet.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Erin Stokes, ND.
Dr. Erin Stokes is a Naturopathic Doctor, passionate educator, and mom living with her family in Boulder, Colorado, where she also acts as the Medical Director for MegaFood. Erin received her Naturopathic Doctor degree from Bastyr University in 2001 and launched her career in private practice before becoming an instructor at Southwest Acupuncture College. For over 10 years, Erin has spearheaded the health and wellness education movement at MegaFood through social media, webinars, and podcasts to empower people to change their lives and help grow healthy communities.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, I didn’t even know Naturopathic Medicine existed until after I graduated from college in Vermont. I have generations of family who have worked in the medical field, but Naturopathic Medicine was a new frontier that I wanted to explore. I was interested in health from a young age and simultaneously drawn towards nature and the healing power of plants. Ultimately, naturopathic medicine represents the perfect blend of science and nature in my life.
I’ve now been a Naturopathic Doctor (ND) for over 20 years, and choosing this career path was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m passionate about seeing how people can transform their lives when they have access to the education they need and are inspired to change.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
My career as a Naturopathic Doctor in private practice began on October 1, 2001, less than a month after September 11th. I joined an experienced ND, who previously had a long waitlist of patients, many of whom we hoped would be able to work with me. After September 11th, everything changed. Specifically in this practice I had just joined, the waitlist disappeared, and my practice was much slower than anticipated for the first couple years. It was through this difficult time, that I found the resilience to expand my career path beyond what I had previously imagined. I became an instructor at Southwest Acupuncture College, and later, began consultations at an integrative pharmacy, both while continuing to see patients. When things don’t work out as we had envisioned, either in our professional or personal lives, there are often other potential opportunities to pursue if we are open to them.
Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
At the start of my career, I had a very specific plan for what I would, and should, do as a Naturopathic Doctor. I was attached to the vision of me solely being in private practice, which is why I stayed for so long. I realized over time that I have a strong passion for educating people about health and wellness on a much larger scale than what my private practice allowed for at the time. At first, I was too stubborn to admit that this was my purpose, but once I started to teach, I couldn’t stop. Certain circumstances in my life pushed me to pursue this route more, taking me in a totally different direction than where I initially thought my career would go. My advice is to not get attached to what “success” should look like. There are many different versions of success and even more paths you can take to get there. The more we open ourselves up new possibilities, the more opportunities will come our way.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
My passion is empowering people by equipping them with the inspiration and tools to make big changes in their lives. It’s incredible to see the metamorphosis that happens when people start making thoughtful health choices for their body and mind.
Education is a primary tool for change, and that’s why 10 years ago, I joined MegaFood where I’m the Medical Director and leader of our ongoing education movement. The more that we can scale and leverage education on various platforms, the more people we will continue to reach. We have many avenues to communicate, whether it’s through a retailer webinar, an educational blog on our website, or engaging on social media with the thousands of people who use our supplements every day.
Over the decade at MegaFood, I have seen a noticeable shift — now more than ever, people are more proactive in their everyday lives about putting their health first. They’re more willing than to invest in better lifestyle changes, nutritious food and supplements to reach their health and wellness goals.
Speaking of which, a current MegaFood initiative that’s having a bigger impact is “What Matters,” a social media series that reframes the conversation around health and wellness. In this series, I interview inspiring thought leaders and have conversations about how we value and prioritize both our personal health and the health of the planet. These discussions are engaging, impactful and packed with powerful insights. Our incredible “What Matters” guests include Ally Love, CEO & Founder of Love Squad, Peloton Instructor, and Host of the Brooklyn Nets, Kanchan Koya, PhD, founder of Spice Spice Baby, Kathryn Kellogg, sustainability and zero-waste advocate, and Ann-Marie Hourigan, Quality Standards Principal Advisor at Whole Foods Market. My colleague and friend, Bethany Davis, Director of Social Impact at MegaFood, participates in the “What Matters” episode on regenerative agriculture and sustainable living. You can follow @MegaFood on Instagram to watch the conversations!
“What Matters” is also helping raise awareness for the Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA), a global organization that catalyzes women-led, grassroots solutions to protect our environment, support farmers and strengthen communities, all to ensure the long-term health of our planet. Recognizing the importance of these efforts to our collective well-being, MegaFood has donated $30,000 to support WEA’s work with women leaders.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
- Get outside. It’s so important to get outside and enjoy nature for at least some part of each day, both for your mood and your energy levels. Some days, it may be a long run or hike, but other days, it could just be a short walk around the block. Research has shown that as little as 5 minutes spent outdoors each day has a positive impact on mood.
- Prioritize sleep. There is nothing like a good night’s sleep, and I do everything I can to get 7–8 hours of quality sleep every night. My nightly routine includes getting off screens as early as possible, taking a shower and using lavender essential oils, and making sure I go to bed by 10pm.
- Drink a green smoothie. My husband and I take turns making green smoothies for each other. We’re even able to get our 15-year-old son to drink them daily. Don’t be afraid to be creative! A recent creation of mine included kale, lemon, lime, avocado, apple and frozen banana.
- Hydrate. Hydrating may not be the most exciting tip, but it’s vitally important for overall wellness. In particular, our immune system and our musculoskeletal system function much better when we drink water throughout the day. I have a water bottle with me pretty much everywhere I go, whether at home, in my bag or in my car!
- Consider a daily multivitamin. I believe in “food first” when it comes to nutrition. Food should always be your first source for vitamins and minerals. That being said, nobody eats perfectly, and it can be challenging to get all of the vitamins and minerals you need from your diet alone. A high-quality daily multivitamin can fill in the inevitable gaps that exist in our diet.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would start a movement of deeper connections, where people first and foremost connect more closely with themselves and their individual health and wellness needs. From there, fostering more connections within families, neighborhoods, and communities is vital for us all to thrive and grow. Humans are built to be connected.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
Your career trajectory does not have to be linear. You don’t have to do just “one thing.” Most people have a range of gifts and talents, but there is a lot of pressure from society to find your career early and stick to it. I have been most inspired lately by peers who have developed new skills and embarked on new careers in mid-life.
Candor is key. In my earlier years at MegaFood, I was more careful about what I shared. Now, I strive to be known for candor with compassion. This shift to being more candid has been a career game changer, and it’s liberating! I’m much more effective at my job because I’m willing and eager to share my input candidly.
When in doubt, always reach out. With all of the digital communication these days (texts, emails, etc.), there’s plenty of room for misunderstandings and it’s important to clear those up as soon as possible. I’ve been working remotely with MegaFood for over 10 years, and this has been critical to thriving in an offsite role. Never hesitate to pick up the phone and make a call or jump on a Zoom meeting. I’ve created so many strong connections and cleared up misunderstandings by following my instinct to reach out, without delay.
Stop and celebrate wins — both personally and professionally. Time goes by fast, and it’s important to overcome the hard-wired “negativity bias” that exists in all humans. It’s essential to genuinely celebrate wins, especially at work, where it can be easy to just push forward to the next thing.
Failure is essential for growth, too. I like the expression “fail forward” and, ultimately, I think that failure needs to be redefined. I’ve learned some of my best life lessons from things that didn’t go as planned.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
All of these causes are important. The topic that is most important to me at this moment is regenerative agriculture and its potential to improve the future health of the planet. I am very excited about the work that we are doing at MegaFood with our network of farm partners. We have developed a Healthy Farm Standard, which is essentially a Regenerative Agriculture scorecard that focuses on soil health, conserving resources and supporting thriving livelihoods.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
I would love to stay in touch. You can follow me on Instagram at @erinstokesnd and on LinkedIn — Erin Stokes, ND. You can also access a lot of the educational content that I’ve written for MegaFood’s blog.
Thank you for these fantastic insights!
Women In Wellness: Erin Stokes of MegaFood on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.