Live at THRIVE: Root Cause Health, Clean Beauty & Low-Tox Living — Women's Wellness in Cleveland
RAW Season 2, Episode 25
RAW Season 2, Episode 25: Root Cause Health, Clean Beauty & Low-Tox Living — Women's Wellness in ClevelandLive at THRIVE: Four Conversations on Health, Healing & Low-Tox Living
There's a particular kind of energy that only happens when a room full of women who are tired of being dismissed gets together to talk about what actually works. That was THRIVE: A Women's Wellness Experience — and RAW was there to capture it.
Hosted at a live event organized by Jen Kanaba's Root Cause Integrative Wellness team, THRIVE brought together practitioners, founders, survivors, and community builders for a day centered entirely on advancing women's health. Ali sat down with four remarkable women in four back-to-back conversations that together paint a picture of what's possible when education, community, and intentional living align.
This episode is different from a typical RAW format — it's fast, direct, and full of real voices from the floor. Here's what each conversation brought to the table.
Jen Kanaba — Root Cause Integrative Wellness
Jen Kanaba is the owner of Root Cause Integrative Wellness in Berea and the founder of the HEAL Conference. HEAL stands for Healthy Everyday Activities for Longevity — and that mission is encoded in everything Jen does.
In her conversation with Ali, Jen broke down the fundamental difference between conventional and integrative medicine: Western medicine is largely designed to manage disease. Integrative medicine goes looking for why the disease is there in the first place. Her clinic uses functional lab testing to examine toxicities and deficiencies at a cellular level — from mold and heavy metals to mineral and vitamin imbalances — and uses modalities like red light therapy (the only medical-grade red light bed in Cleveland), PEMF mats, oxygen therapy, IV therapy, and cold therapy to support the body's own healing capacity.
For women specifically, Jen sees a recurring pattern: exhaustion, brain fog, sleep disruption, weight challenges, and bodies locked in a chronic stress response. "Symptoms are warning signs from the body saying, 'Something isn't right.'" Her clinic's goal isn't to medicate those symptoms away — it's to understand what's driving them and remove the obstacle.
THRIVE was born from the same impulse. After attending a health conference in Nashville, Jen came home and thought: why isn't Cleveland doing this? The HEAL Conference is her answer.
Connect with Jen on Instagram
"Symptoms are warning signs from the body saying, 'Something isn't right.
— Jen Kanaba | RAW S2E25
Jamie Kowit — NISH Body Care & Manifest Manicures
Jamie Kowit is building two things at once: NISH Body Care, a modern clean body care brand with a powerful give-back mission, and Manifest Manicures and Mixology, a non-toxic nail studio in Shaker Heights' Van Aken District.
NISH takes its name from replenished — because Jamie's definition of replenishment isn't just about skin. It includes the mind, soul, and community. This year, NISH is partnering with Wellbrook, a local all-men's addiction recovery facility, donating a portion of every product sold by year's end. The average person has 13 body care products in their home — which adds up to upward of 200 different chemicals absorbing into the skin daily. NISH offers a cleaner way.
Manifest is just as thoughtful. Jamie's non-toxic nail studio uses Dazzle Dry — a polish line that skips UV light, lasts up to two weeks, and requires no harsh removal process. For women who've already removed toxins from their food, skincare, and household products, the nail salon was often the last holdout. Manifest closes that loop. "If the products we use in our daily lives could help someone else in need, why not?"
Connect with Jamie on NISH’s Instagram or Manifest’s Instagram
Denise Nicolay — Cancer Survivor & Advocate
Denise Nicolay's story is one of the most moving in this episode. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with cancer. Her cancer marker numbers at diagnosis: 3,400. As of March of this year: 146. She attributes a significant part of that progress to the integrative work she's been doing at Root Cause Integrative Wellness — five days a week, consistently, combining the superhuman protocol (grounding mat, oxygen therapy, and red light) with her ongoing conventional chemotherapy.
Denise is quick to say she supports both approaches. What she's found is that the integrative work gives her body the cellular support it needs to withstand and recover from treatment — fueling what chemo cannot restore on its own. "It's more than the modalities. It's the caring. People are worried about you, and they want you to feel better."
She spoke at the first HEAL Conference too — sharing her story even when it was hard, because she knows the value of seeing someone navigate this journey and come out the other side. Her presence at THRIVE was proof that what's possible often exceeds what we're told to expect.
Connect with Denise on Instagram
Rachel Kovach — Mindful Mercantile
Rachel Kovach is the owner of Mindful Mercantile, a non-toxic refillery in Berea, Ohio (with a grand homecoming to a consolidated new location planned for 9/9). A refillery is exactly what it sounds like: bring in your own clean, dry containers, fill them with non-toxic, locally sourced product, and pay for what you take. No single-use plastics. No leaching packaging. No waste.
But Mindful Mercantile is more than a store. Over 95% of its vendors are women-owned, and 50% come from Ohio. Rachel runs hands-on workshops because she believes people don't just want products — they want connection, education, and the knowledge that comes from putting something together with their own hands. "People want to connect again, and they want to learn."
Her insight on the real competition in the wellness space is sharp: it's not other stores or other brands. It's convenience. Making the low-tox choice has to become the easy choice — and that starts with awareness, community, and spaces that make it feel accessible rather than overwhelming.
Connect with Rachel on Instagram
Key Takeaways
Women's health concerns are frequently dismissed or treated with one-size-fits-all solutions — integrative medicine offers an alternative framework
Root cause medicine looks for the why behind symptoms, not just how to manage them
The average person has 13 body care products at home — over 200 different chemicals absorbing into skin daily
Non-toxic nail care exists and it works: Dazzle Dry lasts up to two weeks without UV or harsh removal
Integrative modalities can meaningfully support the body during conventional cancer treatment
It's not about individual exposures — it's about accumulation of daily exposures over time
Refilleries reduce both plastic waste and toxin load in one trip
Supporting local, women-owned businesses strengthens the communities those businesses serve
Education is the most powerful catalyst for lifestyle change
Cleveland's wellness community is organized, growing, and worth paying attention to
Four conversations and a collective argument that women's health deserves more than band-aids.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and watch on YouTube.
Connect with our guests:
Jen Kanaba / Root Cause Integrative Wellness: @rootcauseintegrativewellness | HEAL Conference: @thehealconferencecle
Jamie Kowit / NISH Body Care: @nishbodycare | Manifest Manicures: @manifest_cle
Denise Nicolay: @big_dee09
Rachel Kovach / Mindful Mercantile: @mindfulmercantileco
Frequently Asked Questions
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Root cause integrative wellness is an approach to health that searches for the underlying causes of symptoms — such as toxicities, mineral deficiencies, mold, heavy metals, or chronic stress — rather than simply managing symptoms with medication. Root Cause Integrative Wellness in Berea, Ohio, uses functional lab testing and modalities like red light therapy, PEMF mats, oxygen therapy, and IV therapy to support the body's ability to heal itself.
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Jen Kanaba is the owner of Root Cause Integrative Wellness in Berea, Ohio, and the founder of the HEAL Conference — a women's and community wellness education event in Cleveland. HEAL stands for Healthy Everyday Activities for Longevity. Jen focuses on functional medicine, cellular health, and empowering patients to understand the root causes of their symptoms.
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NISH Body Care is a clean, non-toxic modern body care brand founded by Jamie Kowit. The brand is inspired by the word replenished and includes a give-back mission — partnering each year with a local charitable foundation. Products are formulated clean, with ingredients you can pronounce, and are available online at nishbodycare.com.
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Yes — Manifest Manicures and Mixology, founded by Jamie Kowit, is a non-toxic nail studio in Shaker Heights' Van Aken District. Manifest uses Dazzle Dry, a non-toxic polish line that doesn't require UV lamps, lasts up to two weeks, and requires no harsh removal process.
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A refillery is a retail concept where customers bring in their own clean, dry containers and fill them with non-toxic, locally sourced product — paying only for what they take. This eliminates single-use plastic packaging and reduces the chemicals that leach from plastic into personal care and household products. Mindful Mercantile in Berea, Ohio is a refillery founded by Rachel Kovach.
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According to the experiences shared in this episode, integrative modalities like grounding mats, red light therapy, and oxygen therapy can support the body at a cellular level while someone is undergoing conventional cancer treatment — helping to restore what chemotherapy depletes. Denise Nicolay, a cancer patient featured in this episode, saw her cancer marker numbers drop from 3,400 to 146 while combining conventional treatment with Root Cause Integrative Wellness's superhuman protocol. Individual results vary; consult your healthcare provider.
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RAW is a weekly podcast hosted by Alison Hite, founder of TheCheekyClean and Conscious Cart. It covers women's wellness, conscious living, personal growth, entrepreneurship, and intentional lifestyle choices. Episodes are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and at thecheekyclean.com/podcast.
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Mindful Mercantile is a non-toxic refillery and wellness retail space founded by Rachel Kovach in Berea, Ohio. More than 95% of its vendors are women-owned and 50% are Ohio-based. Mindful Mercantile also hosts hands-on workshops and community events. A new consolidated location is expected to open on 9/9/2026.
Related Episodes
S2E11 — Healing Chronic Illness Through Root Cause Medicine ft. Drew Kanaba
Drew Kanaba (Jen's husband and co-founder of Root Cause Integrative Wellness) shares his own story of healing from a debilitating autoimmune disease — and the root cause methodology that made it possible. The perfect companion to Jen's conversation in this episode.
S2E24 — Women's Health, Early Cancer Detection & Grief ft. Natalie Herbick
Natalie Herbick's story of cancer diagnosis, grief, and advocacy connects directly to Denise Nicolay's journey — and to the broader conversation about what women face when navigating serious illness.
S2E08 — Behind the Label: What Beauty Brands Don't Tell You ft. Laura Ashley
Laura Ashley's deep dive into ingredient transparency and clean beauty is a natural extension of Jamie Kowit's work with NISH Body Care and Manifest Manicures — going behind the label at every touchpoint.
