Culinary Wellness Coach Inspires Others to Pursue a Healthy Lifestyle
We are thrilled to welcome Candy Lesher, a Culinary Wellness Coach, Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame inductee and member of the philanthropic group Les Dames D’Escoffier, to our team of Bōdee Ambassadors.
With an incredible personal health journey of her own, Candy is passionate about helping her clients find sustainable and enjoyable ways to feel better, bringing empathy and nonjudgment to her practice. She’s a proponent of natural wellness products and a holistic approach, incorporating the Cooling Pain Gel, Tinctures and MSM products in her daily routine.
A Wakeup Call
Candy began her career as a successful chef, instructor and restaurateur. She later became a food writer, moving up the ranks to become the Editor-in-Chief at Food & Life magazine. It was an exciting time: Candy hosted and produced Food & Life Television for three years, rubbing shoulders James Beard award winners and eating out 15 to 20 times per month. But the glamorous life came with its own costs, too. She was working extremely long hours. Her mental and physical health took a backseat to her ascendant career as a food journalist and T.V. personality. Years of stress and neglecting herself reached a turning point when Candy received a stage-three uterine cancer diagnosis.
“There are times in life when you get a wakeup call,” Candy says. “You can pay attention or ignore it. If you choose the latter, you don’t have much longer to deal with it.”
Fortunately, Candy was determined to make the changes necessary to prioritize her health. She shed 100 pounds of weight and completely revamped her lifestyle — from the food she ate to how often she was exercising. As she talked to friends about their own health challenges, she realized just how many middle-aged Americans live in day-to-day pain. As a Culinary Wellness Coach at Your Kitchen Rx, Candy is on a mission to prove that thoughtful dietary choices can lead to longer and more fulfilling lives.
Discovering CBD’s Physical and Mental Health Benefits
Candy’s life was upended again when she and her husband, David, were in a horrific car accident on the Interstate 10 in Phoenix. Two teens were speed racing, lost control and hit the side of Candy’s car. Her vehicle rolled three-and-a-half times on the freeway. Thankfully, both Candy and David survived, but were left with severe neck, back and shoulder pain, as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It took months to even feel comfortable getting back on the road.
That’s when Bōdee’s very own Josh Berk introduced Candy to CBD. She began with a tincture and immediately noticed the positive effects, including feeling calmer and more comfortable. Now, Candy makes sure to keep the Thrive Tincture and the Cooling Pain Gel close on hand. She also finds MSM complements her CBD regimen, often reaching for the MSM Bulk Flake, the Pain Gel, the Ageless Eye & Face Serum, the Ageless Eye & Face Cream and the Therapeutic Face, Neck & Body Lotion.
Candy acknowledges how these products align with her overall approach to wellness and long-term health maintenance and continues to use them every day.
The Fine Dining of the CBD World
When shopping for CBD or MSM, Candy has the same principles as when choosing a place to eat.
“It’s really the same as dining out,” Candy says. “You can go to a fast-food chain, not know what’s in your meal and be careless about your health. Or you can do your homework and find a great place that uses quality ingredients and creates intentional products.”
To Candy, Bōdee Organics is the fine dining of the natural wellness world.
“Finding a company like Bōdee is so important,” she says. “They’re creating their products in a supremely clean facility, it’s made in the U.S., they use the best ingredients possible, take incredible care and precision and work with a third-party lab for testing. I’m confident about their products and feel comfortable recommending them to others.”
As an advocate for high-quality holistic health options, Candy is eager to share Bōdee’s CBD and MSM products with her clients and community.