Ep. 184: Nana Meriwether Discusses Her Journey to Herbalism
Description:
Nana Meriwether discusses her fascinating journey of athletics, education, pageantry, and in turn, health and wellness. A philanthropist and Miss U.S.A. 2012, Nana’s story leads to a life exploring herbalism and what ultimately led to the creation of Navina herbal wines. Listen in as we explore together!
More on Nana Meriwether:
Website: www.drinkNavina.com
Instagram: www.instragram.com/drinknavina
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Learn more about BB&R and Achieving Optimal Health Conference by visiting BBRconsulting.us
Quotes:
My journey into herbalism came from my childhood. My father was a doctor, and throughout life I've had this intrigue into health and wellness. Studying herbalism is an extension of that. Nana Meriwether
You can find solace in plants. If you have a headache, you don't have to immediately get an over-the-counter thing. You can look to a plant and maybe it can give you relief. Nana Meriwether
I was in Costa Rica and there were herbalists. These women with tinctures and plant mixtures and I'd taste them and they would change my disposition. And I was like, ‘What is this?’ Nana Meriwether
Show Notes:
Nana Meriwether: My parents met and my dad was teaching around Harvard and Johns Hopkins and teaching about these diseases he'd never encountered in real life like tuberculosis or dealing with patients in real life.
Nana Meriwether: In 1981, he moved with my mom back to South Africa again. This was still during apartheid.
Nana Meriwether: They settled in a little village on the Kruger National Park and over eight years they gave pro bono medical and community work and helped over half a million people.
Nana Meriwether: My mom and I in 2007 started a nonprofit called Merriweather Foundation. And so my mom has kept busy with the work and giving back, especially to deal with medical needs and empowering communities in Southern Africa.
Nana Meriwether: I grew up in the D.C. area and, you know, I played basketball, volleyball, and I ran track.
Nana Meriwether: Somewhere along the lines I started questioning, there has to be more to life. What else can I do?
Nana Meriwether: I ended up winning Miss Malibu, which led me on to Miss California, USA. I was 28 by the time I became Miss USA.
Nana Meriwether: I was 33 at the time and I was like, ‘Wow, how am I getting sick?’
Nana Meriwether: People thought I was just like writing a wellness column, but I was actually healing myself along the way.
Nana Meriwether: Herbalism is actually our first medicine. It's the study of how herbs and botanicals heal.
Nana Meriwether: We used to make wine out of flowers in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, China.
Nana Meriwether: They're a cousin to Kombucha. So I started the journey of building an herbal wine company.
Nana Meriwether: It's like way less alcohol than a normal glass of wine. We also lowered the sugar, the calories, the sulfites.
Nana Meriwether: I'm hoping to educate people that herbalism exists.
Nana Meriwether: You have to be kind of used to change and realize that you will travel different identities throughout your life.
Keywords:
TriciaReillyKoch, DoroBushKoch, HealthGig, Longevity, Wellness, PhysicalHealth, MentalHealth, Health, HealthCare, NanaMeriwether, Herbalism, Navina, HerbalWine, MissUSA