Denise Paulat is hoping her new business, Beautiful You, which is part spa, part vegan restaurant, will bring holistic treatment and healthy diet choices to downtown Ravenna.
Since the business’ soft opening on June 12 at 107 N. Prospect St., Paulat said word has spread quickly downtown about the establishment.
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The vegan restaurant portion of the business includes a variety of unique recipes, including a BBQ Porkless Sandwich, which includes shredded jackfruit and Beautiful You’s own sauce.
Foodies also can construct their own salads, try out the vegan chicken salad, made with pistachios and chickpeas, a cream cheese veggie wrap or Paulat’s take on a vegan eggless salad.
“We probably worked on the menu trying to find things that were good for six months,” said Paulat. “We keep coming up with things; we want to expand in fall and winter.”
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During a training trip to California for ozone therapy, Paulat said the doctor hosting the event catered all their meals from vegan establishments.
“The food was delicious,” said Paulat. “I just liked it so much I started following it off and on,” she said. “Most of the anti-inflammatory diet is vegan-based.”
Similarly, she said she doesn’t like using a lot of medications for aches, pains and other medical problems.
“I’d rather correct myself,” she said. “I have a big passion for alternative healing and holistic living. I’m 58, and I feel good.”
Resting in front of a fireplace is a large internally lit crystal object.
“That’s a Himalayan salt dome,” said Paulat. “You put your bare foot on it, and it’s good for arthritis.”
She said exposure to salt is very good for our bodies in a variety of ways. The salt in mines has antibacterial properties that help protect miners from infection, colds and other seasonal maladies.
“The soles of your feet have the largest pours in your body,” she said. “The combination of the Himalayan sea salt and these ionic machines, it just pulls toxins from your body. We have a salt water pool at home. We love to swim in it. Salt is antibacterial, so you don’t have to deal with all the chlorine you do in a normal pool. It’s easy to maintain.”
Halotherapy, the practice of creating booths with tiny salt particles in the air, provides a variety of benefits, starting with its antibacterial and antiviral qualities, according to Paulat.
According to Webmd.com, halo therapy can help with a many conditions, including lung infections, throat infection or pharyngitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, smoking-related breathing problems, respiratory allegories, asthma, bronchitis, colds or coughs, pneumonia, sinusitis, rhinitis, tonsillitis and cystic fibrosis.
As a registered nurse for 30 years and nurse practitioner for the past three years, Paulat understands Western approaches to diseases and conditions but also sees a place for holistic medicine and healing through a healthy diet.
“I’ve seen a lot of health issues,” she said. “Many of them I’ve found we can fix not only with nutrition but things like the salt booth. Many of our ailments are caused by the environment, the free radicals out there.”
The salt chamber at Beautiful You includes a generator that grinds medical quality sea salt into the air, said Paulat.
“My sister, she has COPD, and every time she gets coughing and other junk she uses it,” said Paulat.
In addition to the salt chamber, Paulat offers an infrared sauna, which offers chromotherapy.
“The red light helps you with circulation and cardiac therapy,” she said. “Blue is very good for depression and anxiety.”
Yellow is good for the immune system and fat burning, she added.
Hours at Beautiful You are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturdays.
Do you have a business or healthcare story you’d like to share? Reporter Bob Gaetjens can be reached at 330-541-9440, [email protected] and @bobgaetjens_rc.