Meet Rebecca Martz Spenser | Holistic Nutritionist and IBS and Gut Health Expert

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rebecca Martz Spenser and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rebecca, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I was diagnosed with IBS when I was 16, and I struggled for a couple decades trying everything I could to get rid of my digestive and skin issues. Finally I came across a nutritionist course where I could run gut and hormone tests on myself and learn what to do with the results, and it was so powerful, I started testing everyone I knew and making recommendations to them. So it became a business very slowly and organically, out of passion for wanting to share what I knew.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Through my own struggles with IBS and digestive issues, through working with my early clients in trial and error, and through my passion for research and learning, I developed an incredible framework to help people get rid of their digestive problems, and I am so proud of it, because there is nothing like it. Most programs and traditional healthcare is all about managing symptoms, learning to suppress them and work around them, with either a highly restricted diet or medications. I worked very hard to create a system where people can move beyond their symptoms, and actually eat a normal healthy diet and still feel great, because that’s what I wanted for myself, too. It came about from working a long time one-on-one with people who wouldn’t pay me if I didn’t get results quick, but also I couldn’t let them walk away and know that their symptoms could come back later. I learned that sometimes it pays to copy what the “experts” are doing, but then you have to keep going, tweak it, try new things, dig into the new research and make it better and better. And today things are often polarized, so our point of view is getting narrower and narrower. I was once a vegan but I also tried being a carnivore, so I was able to take the best of different perspectives and see what actually got results for my clients. Creativity and open-mindedness are the only path to progress in my business, as with the rest of the world.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I always take visitors to Moonshadows in Malibu first. I’ve converted a few New Yorkers that way, and then they realize they love LA and it’s easier from there. Matador Beach is a great stop for beauty and uniqueness, and Malibu Fish and Seafood has absolutely the freshest fish, and is casual and unpretentious. The Getty Villa is a great place to relax and enjoy antiquities. Bulletproof Coffee and Venice Beach give visitors the other side of LA Beach life.

No trip is complete without a walk down Hollywood Blvd.–see a movie at the Chinese, Egyptian or El Capitan, peak inside the Hollywood Roosevelt and have a drink while thinking about the Academy Awards, Robert Kennedy, and ghosts. See the stars and the impersonators, eat at at Musso and Franks or Katsuya, check out the Hollywood Museum, they have great exhibits, and, sorry, jump in an open air van and take a tour of Mulholland Dr and the stars’ homes. If the season is right, catch a movie or Day of the Dead festivities at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Breakfast at Lamill Coffee in Silverlake or Figaro’s in Los Feliz and then grab some lasagna cupcakes at Silver Lake Wine and head up to the Griffith Park Observatory and a long, hot hike to the Hollywood Sign. Head back the same direction that evening for wine tasting at the Barnsdall, and lounge at the Dresden or The Satellite.

Downtown I love the Walt Disney Concert Hall, art at MOCA, Grand Central Market or Little Tokyo for food, and Chinatown if there’s an event going on, or a coffee and macaroon at Bottega Louie. Pick up flowers at the Flower Market for the locals, see the Lakers or Clipps, or a concert at the Staples Center. Everyone has to try the insane chips and chipotle dipping sauce at Mas Malo, then head up to Perch to watch the sunset.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have been so inspired by all the women entrepreneurs lately. There are so many incredible women out there, saying, it’s okay to make money and create a business out of what I’m passionate about. And it’s okay to receive money in return for our unique knowledge and perspective, we don’t have to play small or give it away for free.

Website: www.modernmindbody.com

Instagram: @modern.mind.body