Singer and entrepreneur Kelis' formula for living a healthy and fulfilling life is boiled down to two simple rules: watching what one consumes regularly and reducing stress.
The 43-year-old recently dropped some gems for her followers as she opened up about what influenced her decision to live on a farm with her family, her healthy eating habits, and how her late husband, Mike Mora, inspired her wellness journey.
Mike, who passed away from stage four stomach cancer on March 14, 2022, was married to Kelis for about eight years. The couple share two children, a son Sheperd Mora, and a daughter Galilee Mora. Kelis also has another son, Knight Jones, who she shares with rapper Nas. On the first anniversary of Mike's passing, Kelis mentioned that her journey living on a farm and growing her own food began long before he was diagnosed with cancer.
Kelis On Living On A Farm And Her Husband Mike's Cancer Diagnosis
In an Instagram video, the "Milkshake" vocalist revealed that the particular moment she realized the importance of eating well and having a healthy lifestyle began when she became pregnant with her daughter Galilee in 2019.
"So lately, lots of people have been asking me how did I get started with my wellness and my farming and kind of all that stuff," Kelis said while addressing her fans. "For me, like really everything started years and years and years ago. Just wanting to eat well, I guess. When I got pregnant, really, that's when I really started to care and think about it."
Kelis shared that as soon as she started incorporating healthy meals and other practices in their lives, Mike was tragically diagnosed with cancer in 2020. "Then my husband Mike got sick. This was a couple of years ago. It was right after we had our youngest, Galilee, and he was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer... It was just such a shock," she explained.
The mother of three went on to describe how "overwhelming" the entire experience was with Mike going through rounds of chemotherapy and her trying to balance the household.
"We were already eating well and really focused on what we put in our bodies," Kelis stated. "After he [Mike] did eight rounds of chemo which was beyond intense, there were things that we were doing that we saw, like how we're going to get through this period of time? How are we going to get through chemo? I can't even imagine how he was really feeling, but for me, just being a caretaker, being here, being a mom, and being a wife, and all these things just felt so overwhelming."
Further in the conversation, Kelis disclosed that her knowledge of mushrooms and their effectiveness in one's diet expanded while researching methods to help Mike's battle with cancer. During the research process, the pair found various solutions for the disease, which included hyperbaric chambers and ozone therapy.
The Food and Drug Administration reports that hyperbaric oxygen therapy uses hyperbaric chambers, often considered a healthier alternative, to help the individual's "lung collect more oxygen" so that it can combat infected cells.
According to Medical News Today, the purpose of ozone therapy for individuals with cancer is to "increase oxygen levels to fight cancer cells," and it could help reduce the adverse effects of chemotherapy. The site states there is insufficient research to showcase its effectiveness.
Still, Kelis added that while researching, they found out that medical professionals in other countries like Russia, Japan, and Cuba would often group chemotherapy with ozone therapy to help their patients with cancer, something she described as a "game-changing" experience for Mike. But sadly, Mike's cancer would come back and spread.
Shortly after, Kelis and Mike tried finding other alternatives. In that process of continued research, they met the man that created the hyperbaric chamber, who ultimately suggested that they make a particular mushroom recipe and take it regularly.
"So we ended up meeting with this beautiful, brilliant man who actually invented the hyperbaric chamber," she said. "He was just like, 'hey, this is what you need to do.' He gave us a recipe, and it was a list of these mushrooms to start taking. I was like, 'oh, I do this, and I already take this.' He was doing these really potent B12 shots and all this stuff, and he was like, 'No, it's this recipe specifically.' So, what I started doing was, I really started making the recipe myself."
Kelis On Diet And Stress
Near the end of the clip, Kelis emphasized why it is essential to have a good diet. The "Bossy" songstress pointed out that when people go to the hospital to figure out what is going on with their health, they forget that it all starts with what they consume.
"We've gotten so far away from it and just so far removed that we don't know who to trust anymore. We don't know where to go. We go to doctors for things that don't make any sense when really it's like it's our food. It's how we're eating. It's how we're living and breathing and putting our feet in the soil. So I started making brain food for that. Unfortunately, it was late for Mike, but I give it to my kids. I give it to myself." she said.
Another thing Kelis suggested that people need to look out for is stress. In addition to that revelation, the "Caught Out There" singer shared that was the sole reason she and her family moved out to a farm so that they could escape the "angst" that came along with living in a city.
"Just to add that, just a tidbit, stress is--every doctor we saw, every specialist, every nutritionist, every human being we found that had any expertise in this whatsoever was like, 'stress kills,'" Kelis expressed. "I moved to the farm, and we wanted to separate ourselves from all the silly things that had us stressed out and worried and angst and all these things that didn't really matter."
Kelis would wrap it up by saying that these life lessons she's learned within these past few years are the factors as to why she is very vocal about health and supporting farmers, mainly Black farmers because they care about others' well-being.
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Feature image by Frank Hoensch/Redferns
