Alternative Medicine reached out to Ms. Alexis to share her thoughts and feelings about leading a healthy lifestyle in today’s world.
By Sheldon Baker
Alternative Medicine: On your website, your mission statement reads to inspire healthy living around the world, to empower women and men and to believe that true beauty and health comes from within. With that you focus on clean living, an active lifestyle, aging naturally, and a Christian lifestyle. Please elaborate on that mission statement.
Ms. Alexis: Well, that could take the entire interview. Really, you try to recap who you are and what you believe in and what you hope to better at in this world. I try to lead a healthy example that you can clean things out of your life that are bad and are negative or toxic in any way in your mind. It’s your thoughts and actions and just sitting around too much and not working out or even what we do with our bodies every day that affects the rest of your health and beauty. Your beauty should come from within. You should have peace and an energy level that provides the strength and the beauty that God gave to us.
Alternative Medicine: Very good. This question could probably take the entire interview as well. I don’t believe you had the intention of becoming a model.
Ms. Alexis: That’s right, but I’ll keep it short. I wanted to be a pharmacist. I was going to go to pharmacy school. The rest is history.
Alternative Medicine: Something happened along the way.
Ms. Alexis: I was in my senior year in high school and thought that I had my life planned early that year. I was just trying to figure out ways to make extra money. That’s what modeling was supposed to be for. I went to a modeling school in the late 70s. Back then you had to go through a little school before you could get into an agency. Agencies and charm schools were quite different back then.
I was in this little charm school with wet hair because I was also swimming, and literally felt like I didn’t belong. I felt like a fish out of water. Then, I was pulled out of class one night, and I thought they were kicking me out because they didn’t feel like I belonged there. I wasn’t buying into all the fussing around with the hair and the makeup because it just wasn’t me. But they asked me to go to New York, and I gave a lot of push back. I finally determined I should give it a try and had no idea my career would take off the way it did.
Alternative Medicine: Who encouraged you to do that.
Ms. Alexis: My mom and dad have always been there and raised me and my sister to believe that you can do anything you put your mind to, and it was okay to try new things. When I was growing up, my sister and I got to experience a lot of different things from our classes to playing in the band, swimming, sports, music, and art. We were just all over the place.
Alternative Medicine: In A Model for a Better Future, you share convictions you developed as a supermodel, spokeswoman, athlete, and mom. Talk about that.
Ms. Alexis: When I wrote the book it was about how to be discovered and be a model for a better future. The book was written about healthy choices. If you had to break it down it would be that we are in situations daily, whether it’s at work or dealing with groups or organizations that you are involved with. There’s always conflict and personality clashes. As we see right now, there are major conflicts going on throughout the world. So how do you make a healthy choice? What is the right choice? A lot of that book talks about my journey as a model, because of the life situations I went through and was put in. It gave me, and possibly would give others a sense of right and wrong, and not that I did everything right. I did not always do right. But that’s how we learn. It’s always a matter of what the situation is. How do I feel? Am I doing the right thing, or how can I fix it? I go through that daily quite a bit.
Alternative Medicine: Of all the roads you’ve traveled, supermodel, actor, spokeswoman, athlete, and author, what stands out the most to you?
Ms. Alexis: Mother. You forgot mother. Mother’s the legacy that I feel I’m most proud of. Just to be able to spend so much time with my three sons, and really give them the basis and the groundwork for being great kids. My grandfather said to my dad you can never be jealous of your own children. You want them to do better than you. You want them to succeed, and just be their best selves. It’s fun watching them. I’ve got two sons in their 30s, and one pushing 30. It’s so much fun to see their choices, and how they think, and to be able to talk with them. To watch them from the second they’re born and then be able to have meaningful discussions is one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done.
Alternative Medicine: You talk about eating lean and clean. While it sounds good that can be difficult to do.
Ms. Alexis: It depends. I try not to eat out a lot. If I do eat out, I try to find a big salad with some protein in it. And lean for me is lean in toxins. I do like healthy fats, and I need healthy fats. I’ve tried being on low fat diet but that just kind of raises my sugar levels. I do better with a higher fat content. The lean means keeping out toxins.
Alternative Medicine: Staying on the diet theme, there’s a term you created called, Cheat Eat, based on a mindset. Is it easy to follow?
Ms. Alexis: It’s just who I am, and I had to figure that out. I’m one of those people that looks at a recipe, and determines, I don’t have that ingredient so why not try an alternative. I don’t know if that’s part of that pharmacy mad scientist thing that I had but I was always willing to substitute. I found I wanted that meal but don’t like some of the things that are in it and how can I change the recipe to make it healthier for me. That’s where the term came from. I do it daily. I recently made pumpkin muffins and videotaped it for a future Instagram post. And I made the muffins with almond flour. But I realized in the middle of taping the recipe calls for almond butter. I didn’t have almond butter, and I think what can I use instead? So, I chopped up almonds very thin. Now they didn’t turn into butter because I didn’t grind it long enough, but it was like a meal, and it was good. They were great muffins for vegans or vegetarians.
Alternative Medicine: When you entered the modeling world, the terms vegan or a vegetarian were virtually non-existent. Eating habits were different to what they are today.
Ms. Alexis: I think some people probably naturally drifted that way, but I agree there weren’t these terms, and it probably wasn’t something you talked out loud about. Let’s say you went to a dinner party you might naturally just pick things that didn’t have animal products in them. Now, this is what I am. This is what I eat. Here’s recipes and here’s ideas. And here’s a group that you can join. We have so much more information and support in each one of the different areas we want to pursue. Each one offers a justified feeling that their way is the best way. And as human beings. that’s what we seem to do. At least sometimes. What works for one will not work for another.
Alternative Medicine: You have written about detoxing. Is that still something you do today?
Ms. Alexis: Yes. I talk about detoxing in Lean Clean. Again, what may be necessary for one might not be for another. We are exposed daily, probably more than 45 years ago, when I started my professional career to so many more toxins. Where do they go? And how do we get rid of them? You must take charge of your body and your life in an attempt to clean your body.
Alternative Medicine: Looking back about 30 years ago on another topic, as a spokesperson you helped launch a dietary supplement ingredient called CitriMax®, an appetite suppressant, which is still around today and found in numerous product formulations. Any thoughts about being a spokesperson today in the health and wellness industry?
Ms. Alexis: I had just given birth to my first child and was trying to lose a little weight and get back into the public eye. And as they say, I was in the right place at the right time when InterHealth, the CitriMax® developer contacted me. It was quite unique to represent an ingredient vs. a retail product. There’s not a lot of people who just represented ingredients, and yes, CitriMax® can still be found in hundreds of different products. The launch was initially just making supplement industry manufacturers aware that this was an ingredient that could be incorporated into a wide range of their product formulations and didn’t have to be used as a standalone product. I felt a real responsibility to give everyone all the facts of what it is, what it could do and how beneficial it was. I remember doing a supplement industry speaking event in Las Vegas that according to InterHealth attracted more than a thousand corporate representatives. Then the company had me doing consumer media appearances as well. There were several national broadcast and print media tours and as a result much awareness was created and created a consumer groundswell. I did the talk show circuit, was on several magazine covers and mentioned in numerous editorial pieces. You must remember this publicity was created just before the Internet and World Wide Web were launched into the public domain. Supplement manufacturers were literally forced to add CitriMax® to their products. So yes, it was truly an interesting time.
I love touring and talking about health and fitness. That’s just where my little sweet spot is and where I love to be. So, being a spokesperson for the right product today would be of interest.
Alternative Medicine: You might find this interesting, today, one can purchase a vintage CitriMax® promotion advertorial on eBay touting “Kim’s Natural Diet” along with your photo for $9.95. So today, are you a supplement user?
Ms. Alexis: Oh yes, I am. I was giving thought to that leading up to this interview. I do my little thyroid pills in the morning. But I love Ashwagandha, Spirulina, anti-inflammatories, and any antioxidants, as well as mushrooms. Different mushrooms, including Lion’s mane, I do well with. For me, it’s the thing that helps me have enough energy and maintain my high energy level throughout the day. I don’t like feeling low, and not being effective. I think probably because of my thyroid condition it just seems like I just want to eat Spirulina tablets. If I feel sick, since I’m not a big medicine person, I’ll take raw garlic and chew it, and then swallow the water. But you must make sure you have something in your stomach. I did it once on an empty stomach, and that was not a good situation.
Alternative Medicine: Skincare is another area of interest to you. I’m sure it was always a concern. What’s your secret to looking like a million bucks at 63?
Ms. Alexis: Skincare is important. I’m not a big, fussy person. I don’t spend a lot of time trying to find products. I’m always testing new clean products people give me. But it must start from the inside. I feel a lot of people want to live this lifestyle that might not be as clean and as natural as they want. They just keep spending more money on topical things, thinking that that will help, and it all works together for you. But it’s both your inner and outer self that you need to take care of. Yes, skincare is important, but the texture of your skin has to do with your diet, lifestyle, and the environment in which you live.
Alternative Medicine: There are cosmetic ingredients you feel should be avoided?
Ms. Alexis: Yes, but there are so many that it’s hard to list. I wrote another eBook called Skin Within. The book really scratches the surface because of the numerous and different toxins to look out for. You need to find companies, and there are a lot of smaller companies popping up daily, that say they sell really clean products But then you must determine if they are effective. You can put avocado oil on your face but is that going to do the job of what you’re trying to achieve? Such products need to be both effective and clean. Finding those products is fun. I found there were many available options when I wrote that book. Today, many retail stores have clean aisles or clean categories. If you’re looking at Sephora or Bloomingdales, or similar stores, they have an area or section that targets cleaner products. It’s like your grocery store that might have an organic section.
Alternative Medicine: Unfortunately, FDA does not pre-approve cosmetic products.
Ms. Alexis: Right. They’re virtually not involved in the cosmetic category. They’ve only banned 11 ingredients. In comparison, the European Union (EU) has banned more than 2400 different toxic ingredients. And they identified specifically what they’ve banned.
Alternative Medicine: I guess you feel that the cosmetic regulation needs a makeover.
Ms. Alexis: Yes, that would be nice. It needs to be cleaned up at least a little.
Alternative Medicine: Beyond health-related products are you a spokesperson for anything else currently?
Ms. Alexis: Right now, no, I’m just trying to establish myself and teach others about what to look for and how to do it in a gentle way. I’m not here to preach to people. I’m just telling people either be aware of this or that because it works for me. My career is moving forward and evolving. I’m going to start writing several weekly articles and doing informational videos for Men’s Health. I never thought I’d be doing something like this, but here I am. We’re still in the contract stage but hope to start very soon.
Alternative Medicine: Living a Christian lifestyle, you are also devoting time to working with non-profits.
Ms. Alexis: I’m helping with a jail ministry and developing curriculum with three different nonprofits including St. Vincent de Paul, Dress for Success, and something called Arouet. Arouet is like a jail ministry helping women once they process and get out of prison and get back into society. The curriculum program for young women will help them make healthy choices in all aspects of their life whether it’s relationships or learning how to be alone and identify what their strengths and weaknesses are and follow their individual personality.
I shared my story with two of the women who had been in the jail system and how I lived my life and what I went through. They had not experienced anything close to what I had when they were incarcerated. But now they’re successful and have jobs and there’s a wow factor. They can talk about how they used to live and think, what they did, and how they are now. I use what I can from my past to help these women. It’s very fascinating.
Alternative Medicine: That’s a great story and program. It’s something we should talk more about in a future interview.
Ms. Alexis: Currently, we haven’t yet settled on a name for the program. But it would be great to share more about it in the future as we develop it.
Sheldon Baker is a contributing editor to Alternative Medicine and other health and wellness publications. He has been affiliated with the natural products for more than 30 years. He may be contacted at sheldon@nutraink.com or on Twitter at @SCB3128.
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