Women In Wellness: Kimberly Griffith of Ombre On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
…Know your sense of purpose — At times, the same monotonous routine can be discouraging. We all have a purpose and knowing yours, reminding yourself of it, and keeping that in your mind can help ignite positive feelings that contribute to your wellness journey.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kimberly Griffith, MS HNFM, CNS, Head of Science at Ombre.
Kimberly is a microbiome researcher and Functional Medicine nutritionist that uses science-based, individualized approaches to promote optimal wellness for each individual. Her persistent focus within lifestyle medicine application and research are firmly founded within the microbial community, understanding health effects from gut, skin, oral and vaginal dysbiosis and how best to optimize each biome for ideal health and wellness. Kimberly is a board Certified Nutrition Specialist and holds a Masters of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, alongside continual education within microbiome research.
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?
I have always felt passion for anything health and wellness, but nutrition specifically fascinated me. The idea that we can alter our athletic performance, happiness, disease manifestations, weight, productivity and so much more all by what we choose to consume (which we already do each day) led me into the field of nutrition and functional medicine. The gut microbiome was a topic and source that continued to resurface as I studied deeper into the field of preventative medicine. The more I read the more I learned about what the emerging science has presented in this malleable ecosystem. Its influence has been tied to everything from asthma, diabetes, cancer, and fertility. This prominent community, which is unique to each of us, has far-reaching effects and they are directly nourished by our choices.
This led me down a path embedded in epigenetics, microbiome research, and helping others find the root causes of their imbalances to achieve their optimal health. My passion within this field and confidence that the microbiome does highly influence our health and overall wellbeing led me to a company named Ombre. A company that focuses on helping individuals understand their influential gut bacteria and how best to optimize it by way of personalized food recommendations, high-quality probiotics with research-supported strains targeting specific imbalances, and lifestyle modulators.
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?
Initially, in my education and career, I was always busy absorbing as much data from the specialists and leaders within the field and movement of Functional Medicine and microbiome research. I read all the blogs, listened to most of the podcasts, and dug into any study referenced or published by these experts. I revered each of these specific individuals as almost “larger than life”. I then had the opportunity to meet with one of these individuals. To my surprise, they requested my input, my advice. They were seeking my perspective in this field, and it took me back a bit. For a moment, it felt as though I had transitioned from student to teacher. It was an unfamiliar feeling that made me second guess every word that came out of my mouth. Afterward, I had time to evaluate and validate everything I had discussed with them. Following this confirmation, I had a weirdly euphoric feeling. Despite my uncertainty in my delivery, I found that the information I had given wasn’t wrong, I had support behind my words and I gained confidence.
I learned from this situation to not doubt myself, believe in what I know and have confidence in it. None of us can be experts in everything, but we can all learn from each other. If we are not taking advantage of our colleagues’ experiences, then we should be. Never be afraid to stand by what you believe. In my experience, even experts don’t have all the answers at times. In my field, I have observed experts become experts by being humble enough to seek advice, ask questions, and grow their knowledge even further.
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?
I fell into a common pitfall that many of us may experience when we finish school and are ready to heal the world. We take this wealth of information that we are passionate about and then try to apply it all at once to each individual. Too much, too fast, and application without interpretation was not resulting in a favorable outcome.
When it comes to increasing health and wellness, a mental component has to be considered beyond just the physical metrics. I found early on that implementing the tools I was so confident in to help people resolve imbalances or achieve more excellent health was a quick fix lacking lasting results. Initially, I neglected to understand or truly appreciate the influence of empowering individuals to take on the “why” behind the application. I worked with many clients and gave detailed recommendations to achieve their desired results. Still, I felt adherence was limited to a short period before they revisited me. I was confident in my recommendations and knew the necessary tools to use, but I shorted them on the interpretation of the why behind my recommendations. I learned that giving someone all the tools to correct an imbalance or achieve better health will be limited if they don’t truly understand or believe why they should make the changes. When most people understand the “why” behind needed lifestyle change, and are encouraged to take on them at a comfortable pace, I have found that adherence and actual lifelong benefits are the more likely results.
I quickly course-corrected and learned from the most potent form of feedback, the experience of my mistakes. Knowledge is indeed power, and I have found that empowering people to understand influential areas of their health, such as their gut microbiome, will help them achieve lasting effects in their wellness journey.
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?
Our health should be at the forefront of each of our thoughts. It’s one area that cannot be purchased; however, we live in an exciting time where the focus of health is shifting to self-care and preventive medicine, which is very encouraging. Founded within the message of preventative health is monitoring your health, watching for trends that could affect your health, and implementing applications supported by emerging research that encourages self-care. The research supports that our gut microbiome is tied to and influences almost every system in our body. Our gut houses most of our immunity and is often the starting point for inflammation. Our goal at Ombre is to help empower individuals to understand this influential ecosystem and give them the tools to achieve their ultimate wellness goals.
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.
- Invest in your health in a proactive way.
We live in an exciting time in science and health where we are learning more about monitoring our health and implementing self-care practices such as microbiome testing. Being proactive about your health and wellness goals is more protective against disease manifestation than responding once symptoms arise. We should use the tools we now have to track our health and look for trends.
- Be mindful about your food choices and incorporate a diversity of plants.
Food is indeed medicine; with every bite, we nourish bacteria associated with disease or health. Knowing which foods are best for you that increase your health is powerful medicine. So be mindful about the foods you choose to consume and aim for a colorful plate with a diverse amount of plants that nourish all the different beneficial bacteria contributing to health.
- Take time to quiet your mind.
With the fast pace of life we live, stress is common among most individuals. We know that stress can result in chronic inflammation, and inflammation is associated with most age-related diseases. It is not always easy to remove the stressors in our lives, but we can be mindful about taking time out of our day to counteract these stressors. Take a daily walk without your phone. Set the alarm once a day where you take 15 minutes of quiet time. Naps are great; meditation apps and yoga can all help alter stress perception, positively contributing to our overall well-being.
- Know your sense of purpose.
At times, the same monotonous routine can be discouraging. We all have a purpose and knowing yours, reminding yourself of it, and keeping that in your mind can help ignite positive feelings that contribute to your wellness journey.
- Don’t discount the influence of lifestyle choices.
Self-care and preventative healthcare not only include being mindful about the right foods and supplements, lifestyle influencers such as exercise, good sleep habits, stress management techniques such as meditation, yoga, quiet time, and healthy social interactions all influence inflammation and the gut microbiome, which contribute to a better sense of wellbeing.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
There are many dimensions of wellness, but they are all interconnected and build on each other. In my opinion, creating balance within one’s life helps distribute these dimensions and is part of our journey to wellness. One way to create balance is to refocus yourself every day and determine if life feels out of balance. Most days, many of us go nonstop without ever checking in with ourselves. We live in such a fast-paced world that we forget to take time for ourselves, refocus our intentions and purpose, and think about truly living, not just surviving.
My movement would be a mandatory quiet time during the day recentering, away from any electronics and any stressors, where we take a few moments to concentrate on our life, our breath, and our balance.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
- Control doubt, do a gut check often. While doubt can help us avoid pitfalls, it can also impede advancements to our goals. Generally, outstanding achievements began with uncertainty, fear, and doubt. Don’t let these feelings control your path; they can hold you back. Knowing how to manage these feelings and truly living in the present, which is really the only part of life we can control, can help you get closer to your intentions for your life.
- Uncomfortable situations can help you grow. As children, we step out of our comfort zones by encouraging teachers or parents. Maybe we accept that solo only because we are pushed by our choir teacher. Maybe we are willing to run for a student council position because a loved one practices our speech with us over and over. Most of the time, we are glad we did after we do so, and it helped us grow. As adults and leaders, we can limit those uncomfortable situations by not being willing to engage in that feeling of nervousness, anxiety, and fear. However, stepping out of your comfort zone can help you grow, help you achieve, and help you gain confidence.
- Find a mentor. Find someone you trust who has your best interests and will be honest with you. This does not have to be someone directly in your field of expertise. It should be someone that will help you control the doubt, give you the encouragement to step out of your comfort zone and be an excellent sounding board.
- Know when to step away for a moment. I genuinely feel lucky to work within a field that ultimately feeds my passion. However, passion for something can overtake every moment of your time. For many years early on in my career, anytime I took time for myself, such as daily runs or just sitting down to read, it was always focused on my area of interest, the microbiome. I would listen to podcasts while running or read studies I had messaged to myself. While that helped grow knowledge, it wasn’t good for me overall. It was too much. I now force myself to listen to music when running or listen to general wellness podcasts. You have to know where to draw the line and disengage for your overall well being.
- Set your intentions for life, not just your work life. Setting intentions for our lives helps us feel purpose, gives us guidance, and helps us course-correct should our path diverge from our goals. Intentions should be long-term and short-term. Intention setting is empowering, you write your own story, and it becomes your life. It is one of the most critical influencers in your wellness journey.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
Mental health. Mental health is an area where we don’t focus enough attention. Many times it’s viewed as far different than a physical ailment, which can’t be further from the truth.
At the core, we are all human, and we have all felt “down” before; we share that commonality across the entire world. For me, this leads to a sense of accountability, and it starts by taking care of yourself so you can help others. Concentrating on your health and caring for yourself enough to invest the time and energy into nourishing your mental health contributes to the universal journey to better wellness.
Thank you for these fantastic insights!
Women In Wellness: Kimberly Griffith of Ombre 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.