Realfoodology - A Chat With The Gut Health Guru, Bethany Ugarte

Episode Date: March 9, 2022

84: You probably know Bethany Ugarte from her massively successful instagram @Lilsipper which is filled with the most creative recipes. You may not know that she was once on her death bed - and it all stemmed from the gut issues she was experiencing. She tells her health journey, the protocols she did to heal, shares common gut irritants that might be hiding in your food, and so much more! Check Out Bethany: https://www.lilsipper.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lilsipper/ https://www.ifm.org/find-a-practitioner/ Digest This Cookbook https://amzn.to/3LfM5BI Check Out Courtney: Courtney's Instagram: @realfoodology www.realfoodology.com Further Listening: Let's Get Back to Ancient Remedies with Dr. Axe Why the One Size Fits All Medical Model Does NOT Work with Dr. Campbell 

On today's episode of The Real Foodology Podcast. This just kind of goes to show with the standard American diet, you don't know how bad you feel until you go the other way and then like you reintroduce something to your diet like, whoa, like I was eating this all the time. I was eating this every day. How did I do it? You know, so you don't know until, you know, you make the switch. Hello, hello. Welcome back to another episode of the Real Foodology Podcast. I'm Courtney Swan,

your host. So happy that you're here. And I'm excited for you guys to hear today's episode. Today's guest is Bethany Ugardi. You probably know Bethany from her massively successful Instagram, Lil Sipper, and her super creative recipes. What you may not know about her is the reason that she started her Instagram and started creating all these gut friendly recipes is she has a pretty wild story. And I don't want to tell it in intro because I want you guys to hear it. But she was basically on her deathbed. She was so sick and all stemmed from gut health issues, which is why she is so passionate about gut health now. She has thankfully since healed her gut and now is more at a point of maintenance. And we go over her whole story. She tells it from the very beginning. We talk about the protocols

that she did to heal, um, what she really thinks the biggest factor was that helped her heal. We also talk about her explant surgery or the surgery to remove her breast implants, which is, I think, a really interesting part of her story. And also, we just talk in general about really what health means to her, what food additives that cause the most amount of digestive issues, the specific protocol that she's on today to keep herself healthy. And we also give some advice for people struggling where to start with their own gut health and so much more. So with that, let's just get straight to the episode. I hope you guys love it. Oh, one more thing before we go. If you are listening to this and you're enjoying the podcast, can I ask a favor of you? Could you please rate and review it? It would help me so much. It helps this podcast get

more listeners and helps to get it into the ears of more people. And I am so grateful for your support. Thank you so much, guys. I started Real Foodology as an outlet that I needed to share all the information that I was learning as I was getting my master's of science in nutrition and integrative health. And then it from there just kind of exploded into this podcast and my Instagram. And actually I have a really exciting news. I am releasing an immunity supplement. I can finally talk about it in full detail. I have not been able to really talk about it for the last six months, but I am so excited. You guys, it is a liposomal supplement, which means that it is in liquid form and it is more bioavailable to the body. So you have to take less of it and less milligrams of all of the

vitamins that are in there because they are more bioavailable and they're more potent. It's called real defense and it has everything that I have wanted in one supplement these last two years, minus the vitamin C. We couldn't fit the vitamin C in there, but we're offering a bundle deal when it goes on sale in the middle of March, I believe. When I have a date, I will definitely keep you guys updated, but we're offering a bundle with Real Defense, which is my supplement, with the vitamin C. It has a ton of immune-supporting vitamins and nutraceuticals that are scientifically proven to support your immune system.

It is more needed than ever, and I'm so excited to share this baby with the world. So as soon as I have more information on when exactly it's coming out, I will definitely share it on my Instagram. So make sure that you are following my Instagram, which is at real foodology, and I will keep you guys updated on, uh, the release as I can on the podcast. Do you want to hear the biggest discovery of our time for promoting healthy aging? Of course you do, because all of us are concerned about aging. There is a class of ingredients called senolytics that were discovered less than 10 years ago,

and they are being called the biggest discovery of our time for promoting healthy aging and enhancing your physical prime. Now, when I'm talking about aging here, I'm not just talking about on a superficial level, wrinkles and saggy skin. I'm talking about energy, joint pain, your ability to show up for your life, cognitive function. I'm talking about the real effects of cellular aging on the body and what it does to our body as we age. Now, as we age, everyone accumulates something called senescent cells in their body. They cause symptoms of aging, such as aches and discomfort, slow workout recoveries, sluggish mental and physical energy associated with that middle age feeling. They're also known as zombie cells. They're old and worn out and not serving a useful function for our health anymore, but they're taking up

space and nutrients from our healthy cells. Much like pruning the yellowing and dead leaves off of a plant, qualia senolytic removes those worn out senescent cells to allow for the rest of them to thrive in the body. And you just take these supplements two days a month. That's right. Just two days a month. Qualia Synalytic is an amazing product that helps to remove these senescent cells. And if you want to hear more about the product and more about these senescent cells that affect aging, go back to the episode that I did with Dr. Greg Kelly of Neurohacker. So you can dive more into the details of all of it. But the formula that I'm talking about qualia synolytic is non GMO, it's vegan, it's gluten free, and the ingredients are meant to complement one another, factoring in the combined effect of all the ingredients together. If for some reason you

don't like the product, you're not feeling the effects of it, it also has a 100 day money back guarantee. If you want to resist aging at the cellular level, try Qualia Synalytic, go to neurohacker.com slash real foodology for up to a hundred dollars off and make sure to use code real foodology at checkout for an additional 15% off. That's neurohacker, N-E-U-R-O-H-A-C-K-E-R.com slash realfoodology for an extra 15% off your purchase. Thanks to Neurohacker for sponsoring today's episode. Imagine having a metabolic coach in your pocket that you could access at any point, any time in the day, whenever you want.

That's what Lumen is. Lumen is the world's first handheld metabolic coach. It's a device that measures your metabolism through your breath. And on the app, it lets you know if you're burning fat or carbs and gives you tailored guidance to improve your nutrition, workout, sleep, and even stress management. I have so many podcast episodes about metabolic flexibility and why it is so incredibly important for your overall health and longevity. And now thanks to Lumen, you can actually see in real time, your body's ability to efficiently switch between using different fuel sources

like carbs and fats. There's preferred times to use each and how well you can switch places between burning carbs versus burning fats will tell you a lot about what is going on in your metabolism and where you are in the metabolic flexibility spectrum. All you have to do is breathe into your lumen first thing in the morning, and you'll know what's going on with your metabolism, whether you're burning mostly fats or carbs, then lumen gives you a personalized nutrition plan for that day. Based on your measurements, you can also breathe into it before and after workouts and meals. So you know exactly what's going on in your body in real time. And lumen will give you tips to keep you on top of your health game. Why is this so important? Your metabolism is your

body's engine. It's how your body turns the food you eat into the fuel that keeps you going because your metabolism is at the center of everything your body does. Optimal metabolic health translates to a bunch of benefits, including easier weight management, improved energy levels, better fitness results, better sleep, and more. Now this is a really cool feature too. It can actually track your cycle as well as the onset of menopause and adjust your recommendations to keep your metabolism healthy through hormonal shifts. So if you want to take the next step in improving your health, go to lumen.me and use real foodology to get $100 off your lumen. That is l-u-m-e-n dot m-e and use real foodology at checkout for $100 off. Thank you so much to lumen for sponsoring this episode. Bethany, I'm so excited that we finally got connected. This has been kind of a couple Thank you so much to Lumen for sponsoring this episode. very, very early days. Back when Instagram was so different, you know, it was like everyone was

posting recipe like you still are, but it was a different, it was still just a different world. Yeah. It was like, everything was in chronological order. Like when people posted, it was just, yeah, different times. No. And I'm, I mean, I miss that. Yeah. And it was a lot easier to grow and you know, but so you were probably most well known for your recipes. And I just want to commend you for your creativity. Every time you post a recipe, I'm like, I didn't even think about that. Where does she get these ideas? It's so cool.

Thank you. Yeah. There are a little bit out there sometimes and I'm trying to normalize it, but it just – it is what it is and they stem from actually needing to eat a certain way. You know what I mean? They stem from like I literally cannot have X, Y, Z, A, B, C, E, F, G. Like what can I make, you know, with what I have? So, you know, you do what you got to do. Yeah, it's cool.

Well, and you make having all of those diet restrictions look fun and easy. And I know it's not either, but you can make them fun and easier. And that's what's so cool about your recipes. So let's kind of start from the beginning of your health journey. You have kind of a wild story. And I would love for my listeners to hear what caused you to become so invested in your health. Well, yeah. So, okay, Courtney, I'm sure you know, but I've had quite a journey with my health, which has brought me to where I am today. So I'm very thankful for that. I don't regret

any of it, but it was definitely a journey. So back, I would say like mid, early, mid twenties, like early twenties, I would say, I started having like a lot of gut issues and it wasn't like super bad, but they continue to progress. And, you know, I was, I thought I was eating healthy. Like I wanted to, you know, be healthy, obviously. And I was very uneducated and just eating protein bars and like the typical, you know, like frozen dinner, lean cuisine, like thing, thinking that I was like doing good for my body. Um, and, uh, yeah, it just kind of exacerbated and it got to the point where, um, I mean, I can go into this in

more detail, but I was literally like skin and bones at one point, uh, on my deathbed. Like you could see, you could see the bones like popping out of my body and like my hip bone and like, just there, there was a time, like I, I couldn't even balance on one leg because I didn't have the strength to do it because I couldn't digest. And that's why I got so thin was I was literally trying to eat anything and things were coming out the other end whole, like undigested. And obviously when you're not digesting your food, you're not absorbing the nutrients and you, your body just wastes away. And so I was going from, you know, doctor to doctor, like the typical story of anyone like trying to figure out answers. Um, I was having this really bad, like burping sulfur smell, like rotten eggs, like every like two to three minutes. And it was like, yeah, it was weird.

I've never heard that before. It was really weird. And the smell was coming from like my, I got diagnosed with tons of different things. One of them was gastroparesis, which is paralysis of the stomach. So gastroparesis, right? So basically your stomach muscles, a healthy person, your stomach muscles contract and they move. And as your stomach muscles contract, they move food down your digestive system and through your colon and all of that. So my muscles weren't contracting. So food was literally just sitting in my stomach, rotting. And the only way I could get food to, like, continue to move through my body was to eat more food, right? To kind of push it down, and I had to do, like, you know, enemas, and I had to do colonoscopies just to kind of help move things through, and so things were rotting, and it was

just like, man, we're getting kind of graphic here, but it was just like, you know, yeah, I wasn't able to digest. And so things were just kind of shutting down and I had like holes in my stomach from, I don't know why I'm, can't even think. Was it leaky gut or is it something different? Leaky gut. So I had that as well. And, you know, all of these different things. And some of the things, like even doctors that were like, I don't know what's going on with you. You know, I went to Cedars-Sinai, which is like one of the best gastroenterologists like here. Yeah, in the country. Yeah. Like, so it was in Beverly

Hills. My mom took me to a specialist. So this is, yeah. Like as I'm even just saying this, like this was pretty like early twenties, like maybe even 22, like 22 years old or something like that, because I was still on my dad's insurance. So this is like why I'm thinking, cause I was able to go there. So yeah, actually my mom took me there and, you know, they just kind of gave me some like pills or some options and they didn't really address like how to reverse it, right? They just kind of wanted to put a bandaid on it. And that's not something you want to hear, you know, like you don't want to be popping pills for the rest of your life. And I did try and take the pills at first because I was like, okay, fine. Well, I'll just try it right now.

And of course, I got like bad side effects. I was like hallucinating. It was just kind of weird. And this is like from what my mom has told me because I don't even remember this. But my mom was like, I think I was on the medication for like two days and we just stopped it. Because my mom was like, you were looking kind of weird, Bethany. So, you know, in, yeah, so like all these gut issues were happening and it was painful. Obviously I was so bloated and, you know, everything was suffering. Obviously, I mean, your listeners already know gut health is so important. And

when your gut is out of whack, like your hair suffers, you know, your skin suffers and just, it just throws everything off, obviously your immunity. So, um, you know, things were just not looking so pretty. Um, but, but yeah, fast forward. So I was thankfully introduced. I had known about this holistic doctor and I had seen him prior. And we reconnected. And this is where we got really close. And I actually just saw him before this interview. He stopped by my house and came to say hi.

So, I mean, he's like a friend now. But he was the one that truly saved my life multiple times. I mean, this is just one incident. And he introduced me to just a whole new world of health, you know, bringing me back to basics, stripping down my diet. And, um, I would say anyone that's suffering with gut issues and, um, you know, leaky gut or gastroparesis and where things are just not digesting. Um, I had to, I had to basically puree all my food. Um, and I talk about this in my, uh, in my book too, about like the protocol that I did and I, and I have it listed out for people that want to do it too.

Um, but I had to puree my meat, which is not, yeah, it's like baby food and that's, that's basically what we went back to is like, if you think of it as a baby, you don't feed a baby an apple, right? You give them applesauce or you don't obviously give them a thing of chicken that you just barbecued. So, you know, like you have to puree everything down because the stomach is so sensitive. And when things are pureed down, it's actually pre-digested. And so it just is so much easier for your body to obviously digest and absorb the nutrients. You're not having to break things down. It's not super rough. I also obviously not just pureeing the food because it's of course what you're eating too.

So I hardly ate any vegetables. Kale just ripped my stomach up. Vegetables in general, I had to really kind of cook all my food, puree it. And I had to eat like a tablespoon at a time. That's another thing. Like I wasn't like, oh, three meals a day. It was like eating a tablespoon of food every 10 minutes throughout the day to kind of just ease into it because anything I ate would just hurt and bloat me. Um, and that was, that was my job for nine months was to get better. But, you know, obviously I could not work. So I had to, I was working in a really great corporate office, the assistant to, you know, the vice president of this company. And yeah, it was, you know, one of those things where I was taking more days off than I was working and

I was just getting so sick. So, so I couldn't work. And I did start an Instagram, you know, just kind of as like a side thing. I'm like, whatever, you know, I'll just kind of share, um, what I'm doing. And I think I had one before this happened, but I wasn't super active. I would just come on it like, you know, whenever. Right. But I mean, when you're out of the job and you have nothing else to do, but cook, you kind of like try and occupy yourself. So, um, so, you know, I started sharing like what I was doing on Instagram and it was very unusual, of course, but people were interested for sure, you know, and it caught on and realizing too, like I wasn't the only one suffering. And I think that's a message I really want to get across,

of course, is because you feel like you are literally the only one experiencing these gut issues. And like, you're seeing things in the toilet that you think are like aliens, you know, you're like, what the heck is this? Because it was like stomach lining coming out. It was like weird stuff that, you know, you're, it was almost like your body's trying to attack itself and mucus. If you've ever seen mucus, like you're like, what the heck is this? And it's your body's defense mechanism really when you see a lot of mucus and everyone does pass mucus, but it's, it's not like very visible. Um, but this was obviously visible and I just was freaking out. Um, and so, you know, just know that you're not alone. Like, you know, you're not the only one

experiencing this. Um, but it, you definitely have to find the right people, you know, um, find the right group and, um, yeah. And just, you know, obviously not give up. And for me, like it was either puree my beef or die, you know, cause nothing else was helping. So, um, yeah. Wow. This is really exciting. Organifi now has kids stuff. They just released two kid products. One is called easy greens and it's a refreshing green apple juice where kids will never know that it's packed with veggies. And the other one is called Protect. It's a delicious wild berry punch like the Kool-Aid that we used to have as a kid, but without any sugar. This is really exciting. And if you've listened to the podcast for a while, you know that I'm a huge fan of Organifi and most specifically because every single product that they make is glyphosate

residue free. So you know that you're going to be able to give these powders to your kids and know that they will be able to consume them safely without any glyphosate in it. So let's break down each one. The Easy Greens is a nourishing and delicious blend of superfoods and veggies that provides essential nutrients, probiotics, and digestive enzymes to bring balance to kids' growing bodies without fillers, additives, or junk. It helps to fill in nutritional gaps, aids in growth and development, supports digestive health, has a rich micronutrient profile, and includes digestive enzymes. This would be a great way to sneak in greens for your little one without them actually knowing that it's healthy for them. And the second one, which is the wild berry punch similar to Kool-Aid,

is called Protect, and it is to support your child's daily immune health with food-derived nutrients that work to strengthen their body's first line of defense. I know just through girlfriends of mine that have children that when your kids are going to school, going to daycare, they're coming home sick a lot more often just because they're getting exposed to different kids and different viruses when they're out in the world playing with kids. So this would be a great way to help to support your little one's immune health. It's organic and it's also made with real whole food ingredients. It has a delicious berry taste and it's low sugar and it's gentle enough for kids to take every single day. And I really love the ingredients in this one. It's orange and acerol cherry, which is a powerful source of vitamin C

and antioxidants, astragalus, elderberry, and propolis. These are all really great for overall immune health. If you want to try the products that i talked about today or any of the organifi products go to organifi.com slash real foodology and use code real foodology for 20 off again that's organifi it's o-r-g-a-n-i-f-i dot com slash real foodology did you know that most cookware and appliances are made with forever chemicals? Yes, that means your nonstick pans, your air fryers, your waffle makers, your blender could possibly have PFAS and yes, even our beloved crock pots and pressure cookers. I have actually been talking about this for so long. Back in 2006, my mom came to my dorm room and made me get rid of all my nonstick pans because she was

concerned about me being exposed to something called Teflon. Teflon is a coating that is used on nonstick pans and a lot of these appliances that I just named. So I've avoided Teflon, nonstick, PFA coated appliances, pots and pans, you name it for a very long time. And the only option for the, for a very long time was just stainless steel pots and pans, you name it, for a very long time. And the only option for a very long time was just stainless steel pots and pans. So I was really excited when a company like Our Place came out because they started creating really beautiful cookware and appliances that are like pieces of art. Every appliance that I have from Our Place, I legit want to store it on the counter. And I'm the type of person that does not want anything on my counter because I like it to look really just clean and minimal. But I'm so obsessed

with all the art place products that I have so many of them displayed on my counter because they are legit pieces of art. Our place is a mission driven and female founded brand that makes beautiful kitchen products that are healthy and sustainable. Other products are made without PFAS, which are the forever chemicals and also made without PTFE, which is Teflon. If a company is not outwardly stating that they don't use these chemicals, then if they are using nonstick coating on their appliances, they are absolutely using forever chemicals. And there's been increasing global scrutiny for their impact on the environment and our health. And recognizing this impact, the plans to prohibit pfas by 2025. our place has always been pfas free and they offer durable toxin-free ceramic coatings ensuring a healthy

safe cooking experience and let me tell you you guys they are changing the game with non-toxic appliances they have a blender they have an air fryer they have a crock pot not to mention their amazing always pan they have a perfect pot which is not to mention they're amazing. Always pan. They have a perfect pot, which is just the perfect size for soups. And they also just came out with a cast iron that I'm loving as well. And I more recently replaced all of the bowls and plates in my kitchen because I really needed an upgrade. My other ones were so old. So I got some from our place and they are so beautiful. The ceramics are beautiful. The colors are amazing. Like I said, everything is like a piece of art.

If you want to try any of the products from our place, go to from our place.com and enter my code real foodology checkout to receive 10% off sitewide. That's from our place.com code real foodology. Our place offers a 100 day trial with free shipping and returns. I mean, it's such a wild story because I feel like yours is on the extreme end. I think a lot of people right now are suffering from gut issues across the board just because of the nature of our food environment in general. But yours is really to the extreme. Do you have any idea what kind of spurred all of this on and like how it happened, how it started? Yeah.

So, I mean, there's a number of reasons like why. You know, I think too I got into like I want to say quote unquote like the health bandwagon or whatever. And I think I was eating just so much crap that was fed to me as far as like, oh, this is great for you. This is like eating, I don't know if we can like name names here or whatever, but like eating like Quest bars or like, you know, like just- Name all the names, by the way. Yeah. I'm like, you know, like things that you're- Trash the garbage. It's like, you know, like things that you're – Trash the garbage. It's like, you know, and you're not – at that time, I was looking at like the nutrition facts as opposed to the ingredients. That's a big one.

Yeah. So obviously, if anyone knows me now, I'm like an ingredient freak and not even like looking at ingredients. But I'm like, what is the sub-ingredient in the ingredient? You know? And like going far like – I don't – natural flavors, like what is natural flavors? And like really diving deep into everything and like where does it come from? So I'm a little bit extreme in that end, but I think we have a right to know. And so, yeah, I think that definitely contributed to it. And I also was going through just a really hard time in my life. And so, yeah, I think that definitely contributed to it.

And I also was going through just a really hard time in my life, super stressed, which obviously exacerbated the problem. And I don't know if this was – if this contributed to it or not, but I did have breast implants. I want to talk about this. So maybe we can go into it now. Yeah. So, you know, um, I had the breast implants prior to this happening. Um, and I, I've since got them removed, but, um, some people I like, I had looked into breast implant illness and I, when I got them taken out, um, thankfully like they were good, clean, no mold, like they looked fine. Um, but you know, it is something that is foreign in your body and sometimes it can cause like an autoimmune thing where your body's attacking itself because it's like this foreign object in your body. Um, and I know some people never experienced that and that's fine. And, you know,

I know people that have had breast cancer and they want to get the implants and that's totally fine, totally support that, you know. But yeah, it was just interesting. So you also, when you get breast implants, this is just what I've heard, that you don't experience like an illness right away. It'll take maybe like, you know, year six or whatever until you're experiencing things. Yeah. It's kind of a buildup from what I've read. I've never had them, but just from what I've read about the, um, the breast plant illness or implant illness is that, yeah, it kind of builds over time. And it's usually a cascade of all these like unexplained little symptoms that all start kind of building up. You know,

it's like they're experiencing fatigue and they're experiencing, I don't know, just all these weird symptoms that they didn't really have. And then all of a sudden they're like, wait, what, what's going on? And no one can really get to the bottom of it. But that, yeah, I mean, this one I feel pretty passionately about because I feel like it's not really spoken about a lot. And I don't even know if you know this. I mean, you probably stayed on top of this, but they just recently released a black box warning on those implants. The FDA finally is putting a black box warning, which is like meaning basically you want to pay attention to this because so many people are getting sick from them that the FDA is now warning about it.

And again, like we said, it's sneaky because people don't initially attribute it to that. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I'm curious now because I know there was a warning on certain ones, like the, I think the textured ones or whatever. And there's so many different ones out there now. And, you know, but yeah, that's interesting, you know, that they're now having these warnings. And again, you know, people get them for different reasons. I mean, no shame or like shade throwing or anything like that. But it's just, you know, it's a topic that I feel is super important to talk about. And it's one of you know, it's, it's a topic that I feel, um, is super important to talk about. And it's one of those things that I always remind my listeners is,

look, you make your decisions that you think are best for your body and your health. And I'm totally in support of that. I would never, um, question anyone's, you know, ability to make choices for themselves. But I think this is one of those conversations that a lot of people aren't even aware of. And so I like to kind of bring light to it and then be like, Hey, you know, if they're not affecting you and, um, you love them more power to you, love it for you, you know, right. Informed consent, you know, um, and I've heard a lot of people, they had, um, them, their breast implants taken out and their psoriasis went away like next day. Like it was insane. I didn't have like any skin issues, but obviously everyone's different, you know. But yeah, so, you know,

kind of going back to like what caused it, I really don't, I don't know. I just know a lot of things hit me hard all at once. And I think too, my gut was just a wreck, which just kind of opened up a can of worms and everything just, everything that hit me did. Like, or everything that could hit me did, you know? But yeah, so that's just kind of a crazy story. But definitely, you know, without that, I wouldn't be here today. I probably would still be working in an office somewhere, you know, um, and just, which is fine, but I have such a passion for this. And, um, I was able to, you know, to write a book. I was able to create a protein powder that is helping so many people now with their gut issues. Just a lot of opportunities

God, you know, gave me. And at the very least, just to give hope to someone, you know, and not, you know, tell them like, you're going to die. You're not going to die. Because my dad, he, this is after the fact, but when I was like literally on my deathbed, um, like he, he had told me, we went on a walk one day and, um, you know, I was still kind of like regaining my strength. And, um, but I had, I, I had asked him, I was like, Hey, like, what were you thinking? Like during this time in my life? And I mean, he had told me, I was like, hey, like, what were you thinking, like, during this time in my life? And, I mean, he had told me, he goes, well, Bethany, like, I was preparing to bury my child. Like, I, not like, not like physically, like, he was mentally preparing.

Yeah, like emotionally preparing. Yeah, he was like, I was mentally preparing to bury you. Like, I thought I was going to be burying you one day. Um, and that's no, my dad, that's no, um, thought that a parent should have about their child, you know, like it, it should be the reverse. Like, you know, no one wants to think about that, but, um, but yeah, you yeah, you know, and I lost a lot of friends. Some friends did stay, you know, in support. But it was just, you know, it was definitely as far as like physically painful, it was definitely emotionally painful too.

Well, I'm sure a lot of people didn't understand. They didn't know. And they thought, I mean, it's, it was like kind of an illness where, you know, you don't see it on the outside. Like obviously you could see something was wrong with me just because of the way I looked. But like people are like, there's no way it's just, you know, whatever IBS, there's no way it's that like something's, you know, so, um, it just was, yeah. But, um, you know, God's good and family was there for me and, um, God brought me through it for sure. Cause I don't, without him, like, I don't know, you know, where I'd be mentally and all that. And obviously physically, but, um, he definitely brought some people into my life that have stayed for a long time. My holistic doctor was one of them and

he saved me from a lot of things. Let me tell you, I don't know if you know this, but I was in a coma for a couple of days. I actually don't know that. Really? Yeah. Was this in the beginning stages or was this during your healing or like when did that happen? This was in 2018. So not that far ago.

Because I feel like I was following you by then. Maybe I wasn't because I feel like I would have remembered this. Wow. So what happened? So this had like nothing to do with gut issues necessarily. This was like a freak thing. Again, just like kind of some crazy stuff has happened in my life.

But I'm living to tell the, and I want to like give a disclaimer, you know, because this is just, this is the reason why I do not eat psyllium husk. Let's just say that. But, um, I was having like some, I had like a stomach upset and I can't remember, but I was having like having diarrhea and it was not stopping. So in my uneducated mind, I was like, well, let me have some, some psyllium husk because it'll help bulk up my stool or whatever. And so, um, I got, I had a lot of it and I got super dehydrated from it and it literally like soaked up my electrolytes,

soaked up the moisture in my body. Um, cause I thought, you know, like I thought, Oh, it'll offset it. Um, which was not the case. And so that night I just felt super weird. And, um, I called my holistic doctor. This is how like such a great friend he is. He lives like an hour away from me. Um, and it's like 10 o'clock at night. And I'm like, I'm just like not feeling well. And, uh, and so I don't even remember the phone call because I was not making sense on the phone. And that's why he, he drove an hour to come and see me at like 10 o'clock at night. He woke up my parents. Cause I think, I can't remember. Maybe I was like, stayed the night at my parents that night. Cause I just like, wasn't feeling good or whatever. Um, then he came

over, he woke up my parents. He's like, you need to take her to the hospital. So parents drove me to the hospital that night. And I'm, I'm just like, I don't even know. Like, I just don't feel good. Right. Um, so feeling I never felt before. And so my mom drove me there and it happened in the emergency waiting room i went into shock and went into a coma and it like thankfully it happened in like there otherwise you know what i don't know what would have happened but um they did the whole like jolting of like the heart i don't't know what they're called. But like – I forgot what that's called. Like the electrical thing where they like, you know, put it on your chest.

And like they did a bunch of things. And yeah, I was in the coma for like two and a half, three days or something like that. It's just crazy. So the doctor said they'd never seen anything like it before. And it was like a freak thing where they're like, oh, it'll never happen again. But I guess my electrolytes just went completely just gone. And they were giving me like water and IV and it wasn't like absorbing. It wasn't enough.

So I woke up in this room, completely white. Obviously it's the hospital room. And I obviously didn't know where I was. I'm like, what the heck just happened? And so my parents were there and it was, it took a while for me to kind of like register like what happened. They had to tell me. And, um, I, after I came home from the hospital, like I still like my brain, I still had to like do stuff to help my brain. I couldn't write my name on a piece of paper. Like it looked like a kindergartner. I couldn't like write my letters. It was really weird. Um, but it just goes to show like how intricate your body is and like you can relearn things, you know, and that's so cool. And so that through that whole process, my holistic doctor helped me and like gave me the tools to kind of

naturally go about things like, um, well, let's just say, for example, it's kind of cool. Like walnuts, you know, they look like a brain. They're good for your brain. So like incorporating different things for that. And, um, yeah, just, I don't even know where I'm going with this story, but it's just like, you know, you live to tell things and just, if it gave hope to someone, you know, that's awesome. What protocols did you implement to heal? I know you talked about the purée of the foods, but,, but what other things did you do? And also, what do you think was the biggest factor that helped you heal? Yeah, definitely a lot of different things.

Obviously, I mentioned the puréeing of food. I had to really strip my diet. I made everything from scratch. So if I wanted bread, I made bread. If I wanted milk, I had to make milk and, you know, soak my almonds, peel off the almond skins and do all of that. So I did everything from scratch. My doctor said, if it comes in a box, bag, package, throw it out, you know. And so it was, I mean, thankfully I can, you know, venture out a little bit now, but, um, that was pretty intense. I did, um, rice and yogurt

every single day, combining the rice and yogurt helps with the probiotics in the yogurt to kind of get down into your digestive system. Um, and, uh, it's, it's a, an Indian like, uh, remedy and it's something in their culture, um, which is kind of cool, you know, to kind of help settle an upset stomach. So, um, I did that and, um, I did do, you know, um, olive leaf tea, um, which I still do today. It's a antiviral antibacterial. And so you just kind of boil olive leaves in a pot of water and it makes a tea. Um, because obviously your gut needs to heal. You know, I did, um, bone broth, collagen, um, man, I'm like trying to think of all the different things that I did. Um, but it wasn't,

it wasn't super like, you know, take all of these supplements or take all of these things. I'm sure, I'm sure I did like a few things here and there, but it really just kind of went back to foods, you know, and healing through food and how you prepare it. Because there's a lot of things where a lot of people don't know, um, how like preparing a certain type of food actually can better your digestive system or worsen it like, um, uh, bell peppers, or let's just take that for example, they can really wreak havoc on your butt, on your gut. But gut, but if you cook the bell pepper or grill it and then you remove the skins, they're super digestible. You know what I mean?

So like different ways you prepare something can really make a difference. I'm a little bit more lax now, but when I go back to doing all those things, like I feel so much better. So I'm like, man, I should kick my own self in the butt, you know, to do that again, or at least like a reset, which is, you know, something that I offer in my book too. It's just a gut reset. So yeah, a lot of smoothies. I still love smoothies.

That's like kind of my staple now and doing like lot of smoothies. I still love smoothies. That's like kind of my staple now. And, um, doing like, um, even savory smoothies, I'll put cauliflower in my smoothies. And again, I steam the cauliflower first, then I freeze it, you know? Yeah. So doing stuff like that and preparing it the right way. Um, yeah, it makes a difference. How did you kind of, um, I mean, I know that you were working closely with a holistic doctor, but difference how did you kind of um i mean i know that you were working closely with a holistic doctor but also how did you kind of come across all of this information and i don't know what kind of path did you go down that because i feel like you could have gone one of two ways you could have gone with the standard you know conventional allopathic way and you know done surgeries and medication and just kind of like threw up

your hands and said, well, I guess I'm just going to be on medication for the rest of my life. Or I could take these steps to really better my health. And how did you kind of come to that? How did you find all this info? That's a great question, Courtney. Well, during the time, obviously I did learn a lot on my own, like not everything I learned was from my doctor, but, um, during the time that I was like literally bedridden, um, I had a lot of time on my hands. So, uh, I did like all day, I just researched stuff online. I was like, okay, let's, let's dig into this. Let's dig deeper. And I was reading articles and studies and just immersing myself in the holistic approach of things. And I think what urged me to kind of

go that way instead of the alternative way was I knew that pills weren't the answer. And I can't really say why I knew that, like what embedded that in me. Maybe it was God, maybe it was, you know, but I knew that I wanted to get to the root of it and not just have a bandaid on my body the rest of my life. Yeah. You know, and I knew there was a way and I thought, okay, like, there has to be. And just kind of researching things and I had hope, you know, and I didn't even know, I don't even know, like, where this, like, man, you caught me. Like, I don't even know, where this, this hope come from. Again, I have to say it was from, from God and just knowing like, you know, you're going to be okay.

Like just, you just got to push through. And I knew, like I knew I was going to be okay. And I knew there was going to come a day where I'd love to tell the tale. Yeah. Well, I mean, that's kind of beautiful because I, as you were saying that I was thinking, you know, it could be just something that, yeah, like you said, like, um, God helped you find. And also it could be just, it could be literally tied to your soul's purpose on this planet. For whatever reason,

you were meant to go through these struggles so that you could forge and light a path for other people going through similar struggles. Because it's not the conventional way, even though it should be, because I know you and I are on the same page with this, that the way we treat disease and the way we eat in this country, and it's all backwards, right? Like we've all been kind of conditioned to just go to the doctor and ask for a pill or a quick fix. And, um, not a lot of people, you really have to find your own way. If you want to get to the root cause of whatever you're going through. And it's a struggle. We don't make it that easy in this country. No, no. And I know too, like going the holistic route does take more time than, uh, popping a pill, right? Like everyone wants something instant, right? And that's typically, you know, like a over-the-counter

medicine. Like if you're going to take NyQuil, like you're probably going to feel great the next day, you know? But, um, so going like the holistic route, it does take a little bit more time because it, you have to build it up. And sometimes, um, it's preventative, right? So you, it's hard to continue, um, a holistic regimen when you're not seeing results. Um, cause you're like, is this working? I don't know. Like, should I just keep doing it? You know? Um, and it'll just take a while. So I know that's kind of hard for a lot of people because they do want to see some sort of improvement right away. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, unfortunately you won't see stuff overnight. Although I will say that what is really cool about changing your diet and really, um,

changing your lifestyle and everything is that you see changes a lot quicker than you would imagine. And then you get to a place where you could have never imagined that you could feel that good. Yeah. But sometimes it takes a little bit of time, but it also doesn't, I will say this, it doesn't take as much time as people actually think that it would. It takes more time than just like taking a pill. Yeah.

Overnight. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, Dr. Mark Hyman talks about this all the time. He's like, I've seen people reverse their diabetes in like 28 days with just changing their diet. Yeah, if you do it right and you hunker down and you, you know, do everything to the T, yeah, for sure. This is another thing, too, that, I mean, just kind of reminded me. So I took out Stevia.

So I was like, I mean, you know, everyone has their stance on Stevia, but I don't like fake sugar. Like I'd rather have raw cane sugar, you know, some honey or whatever than all these artificial stuff. And I think Stevia is artificial and everyone can have their judgment. But I took Stevia out of my diet and it completely changed my taste buds. I was less bloated. And I started tasting the actual like sweetness of fruits and like a strawberry tasted so

sweet to me, you know, and literally just stripping my diet from that. And then I was curious. So after eliminating it for a while in my diet, I ate something with Stevia or maybe I purposely added it to something. I can't remember. And I immediately got a headache. I immediately got bloated. Um, and my taste buds changed, you know, and like things, there was like a weird aftertaste too. And so like, this just kind of goes to show with the standard American diet, you don't know how bad you feel until you go the other way. And then like you reintroduce something to your diet, like, whoa, like I was

eating this all the time. I was eating this every day. How did I do it? You know? So you don't know until, you know, you make the switch. You know, what's so interesting about Stevia? Well, in this, you know, this goes back to, I, I also like to remind my listeners a lot that, um, everyone's a bio individual, that different things will affect people in different ways. And it has such an opposite effect on me, which is so funny because I used, I was a, I was very addicted to sugar. Like there was a point in my life, like when I was in college, I will never forget. I quote unquote had to have, um, like M&Ms or gummy worms or some sort of candy every single day. And I had vitamin water.

I mean, I look back in horror cause I'm like, I was eating so much sugar. I was addicted and I used Stevia and pure monk fruit. And I want to say pure monk fruit because a lot of it is mixed with erythritol and stuff to help myself wean off of sugar in general. And so for me, it actually didn't affect me at all. It doesn't make me bloated or anything. I will occasionally have like stevia or monk fruit in my coffee. But to be honest, like it helped me completely curb myself off of sugar. Totally. Like I don't even really do like for a while I was doing the like sugar-free treats and you know, monk fruit and stevia flavored stuff. And now like I've just completely lost any sort of appetite for sweet things in general that I barely, and it's not to

say I'm not like a perfect human. Of course, I eat sugar sweetened things, but it completely helped me get off the sugar. And that's awesome. You know what I mean? I know everyone has a different experience. I know there's people like with diabetes and that actually helps them. You know what I mean? Yeah. And that's awesome.

So everyone does have an individual like reaction to it. But yeah, like that was just like my experience and it doesn't even have to be about Stevia. It could be like, you know, wow, I was eating like this, like, I don't know, McDonald's every day. And like people, you know, people do, and then they go off of it and then they have like a McDonald's burger and they're like, oh my gosh, I cannot believe I was like eating this. Like, how did I do that? You know? And it's just, it could be with anything. Um, that's a great point. Well, on that note, what are some foods that, um, or like, yeah, additives or whatever it is that cause you the most digestive issues. And then what are things that have helped you that you feel the most benefits from? Good question. Um, yeah. So

I would say like for me, definitely, definitely um i can say like stevia or like fake sugars but um gums are definitely a huge trigger like gore gum everything yeah gore gum xanthan gum um locust bean gum uh if it says gum like that's you know um i would say also this is may come as a shock but um natural flavors um there's like a weird film a weird aftertaste um because not a lot of people know this but natural flavors think oh well it's natural but it actually can be up to 50 different ingredients, like sub-ingredients. Like if it says like natural strawberry flavor, that could be 50 different sub-ingredients that make up the natural strawberry flavor in a lab. And natural is not a regulated term.

So anyone could say something is natural, even if it's not. Right. So, you know, I mean, I could go down a rabbit hole and talk about that, but so there's that. Hickory root fiber and inulin. I mean, I know there's a lot of people that can praise inulin and say, well, that's great because it's a prebiotic and, you know, X, Y, Z, but that, um yeah hickory root fiber fiber inulin i have a whole spiel about that but um that causes so much bloating and so much like digestive um issues and cramping like from i don't know where but cramping just is just exacerbates it. Um, but I want to also make this like clear because inulin in its, in its natural

form, and this can go with anything is great. Like, um, prebiotics, onions are a prebiotic, green bananas are prebiotic. Like there's different things. Um, artichokes are prebiotic, right? But when you see like artichoke inulin, that is like a concentrated thing. It's taken out, it's put in, you know, and it's manipulated. It's now, it's not natural anymore. So, um, that just goes to, for like, um, apples. Like if you eat an apple with the skin, it's all you're eating, you're supposed to eat it all together, right? As like one fruit or, but if you just eat the skins, then, well, you're not eating the other part. So then that can cause some upset, right? Because you're supposed to eat it all together. So the whole

thing of, you know, extracting something and putting it back in and this, that, and the other, well, now it's not in its natural form. So anyways, I know I can kind of go off on that, but no, I'm so glad that you brought that up because, you know, I've, um, yeah. Cause I, I feel like people don't think about this, you know, like we, we talk so much in, in the scope of health that like, let's say for example, like vitamin C, we know it's really good for us. But then when you extract just the vitamin C from the orange, you're not getting all of the, the orange was meant to eat as a whole fruit. And what we're discounting and what we often miss is that it may not necessarily be just that vitamin C that we were extracting out. It may

be that the orange as a whole, all the vitamins, the minerals, the electrolytes you get in there, that everything involved in that orange is what is actually really good for our immune system. And you can apply that across the board. Yeah. And I'm sure maybe the vitamin C in the orange, everything in that orange helps you absorb the vitamin C better than orange, the, you know, everything in that orange helps you absorb the vitamin C better than just, you know what I'm saying? Like, yes, great point. They're, they're all helpers of that and they like compliment each other. So, um, yeah. So I also wanted to say something else cause you've mentioned this a couple of times, um, about bloating. I feel like especially for women, we have kind of normalized it and made it just be a part of our, you know, our cycle and our everyday lives. It's

like, oh, yeah, I was I'm so bloated every day. And we've kind of normalized it, right, as if it's just like normal, everyone has it. And I'm not saying that it's like, I don't I don't want there to be like shame associated. But I want to encourage people that are dealing with bloating on a day-to-day basis. It isn't normal. It's common, but it's not normal. And it should not be happening, especially on a daily basis. It's one thing if you eat something that upsets your stomach and you have crazy bloating or, um, you know, periodically around your period, but even around your period, it's,

it's not normal to have consistent bloating regardless. And so I would encourage people to look into that because it's your body's telling you something is going on. Something's irritated. Something's not digesting correctly. You may be consuming foods that you are sensitive to. Your gut might be inflamed. Like there's so many different things that could be going on. And I encourage people to look into that and not just like, you know, think that like, well, this is just my life. Yeah, no, I 100% agree and back that like that is your body telling you speaking to you, hey, something's kind of up here. Like, can you help me out? Check it out? Because it's not happy. Yeah, exactly. And there could be like a whole

bunch of different stuff going on. So where do you think in the gut health space that people get it wrong? You know, I think that everyone thinks if I take a probiotic, I'll be fine. Or, you know, if that's just like the answer, um, there's, there's a lot of different things. Um, I could also piggyback on this. I'm so sorry. But like, do you think there's, do you have opinions on, um, people going on specific diets? Like, are you for or against specific diets, like plant-based carnivore or whatever um just to kind of piggyback on that or yeah um well that's a good question because i actually did try to go vegan for a while thinking that it would help my digestion i i did not feel good actually saying it ruined my gut yeah and i know people that are vegan and they're thriving and they're they're living the best life

that they live and i that's great awesome If it works for you. But for me, it didn't. Um, and I just felt, I just felt weak and like, you know, it just wasn't happening. Um, but so I, obviously I eat meat. Um, I don't eat pork. Um, but all other like protein, I'll, pretty much, you know, things maybe, maybe not, you know, snake or reptiles. I don't know. You know, the typical meats. Yeah.

Standard ones. Yeah. You know, but, um, but I mean, I think that definitely, like, I know there's like SCD diets and, um, I actually did have to go cause I had a yeast overgrowth too. That was another like issue along with like the gastroparesis. I had a bunch of yeast overgrowth, which was overtaking my body, which was Saccharomyces bol... I can't even say it.

Bulargy? Saccharomyces? I never know how to pronounce that, but I know what you're talking about. It's a probiotic. And actually I stay away from that probiotic like the plague because that can cause tons of digestive issues. And it's actually something that is in nutritional yeast. And that's another food that I stay clear from like the plague. But what was the question?

I kind of like got off. No, I love your tangents. They're full of gold. So I was basically just kind of asking where people get it wrong in the gut health space. And then also if like kind of piggybacking on that, do you have specific opinions about different diets that people go on for their gut health and if they work or not? Right, right, right. Okay. Yeah. So I mean, I had to go on a low carb diet because I did have the yeast overgrowth. And I would say I still do follow a lower carb diet, um, because I did have the yeast overgrowth and I, I still, I would say I still

do follow a lower carb diet than I, I eat carbs, but it's not like, you know, crazy. Um, and I know there's like SCD diets and, um, that actually can help people and, you know, gluten-free and all the, all these things. And, um, I don't paleo, paleo, like that's great. I really like to follow a paleo diet. I eat yogurt, but I don't personally follow a specific diet. I just eat really clean. I don't eat gluten actually, unless it's sourdough and it's fermented. But other than that, I don't. That's a whole nother topic. But I would say a lot of people do think that going gluten-free or dairy-free is the answer. And it's, I don't think it is. The only dairy that I eat is either like grass-fed butter, ghee, and like obviously cultured plain yogurt, which is so

good for you if you do it the right way. Obviously, it's not like, you know, the Dannon like strawberry yogurt, right? But yeah. And again, so going like gluten-free, like I would say gluten-free breads are worse than actual just gluten breads because of all the, you know, sub-ingredients. I agree. Yeah. Depending on the bread you get. I actually, I buy from this place in LA called bread block. Maybe you probably have heard of it and they have this organic sourdough gluten, but it's gluten free and it is so good. And the ingredients are super clean. I feel like you would love it. Oh, awesome. Yeah. I mean, there's, there's gems out there that you can find, like you can, you know, you have to hunt for it. But yeah, I mean, if it's just like the typical, you know, so I would say that's maybe where a lot

of people like just kind of get it wrong is they just go thinking they need to do X, Y, and Z, and it's maybe even exacerbating the problem. So, and I don't want to diagnose obviously anyone and like tell someone like whatever they're doing is like the wrong way, but I would just obviously just to enlighten people and say like, maybe this is, you know, um, maybe look into it a little bit more and not just like fall for an ad. Yeah. Well, actually, and this goes right into what I was going to ask you next for people listening that are really struggling with their gut health. Where would you tell them to kind of start if there may be feeling like overwhelmed and you know, there's all this different stuff, where would they start? Um, like as far as like, uh, like books or like, well, like how to do it

just as far as their own life. Yeah, really anything, anything that you feel like would be valuable. Like let's say someone's like, man, I'm really struggling with my gut health. Yeah, like maybe how to find a doctor or like what kind of rabbit holes to go down, maybe websites to go to, books, you know, really just kind of where to start. I mean, I know there's elimination diets and I would say those are helpful for sure um really you know kind of taking things back to go go back basic and then reintroduced certain foods and see if they do trigger anything or not um so doing an elimination diet can be helpful in finding a holistic doctor is definitely something i would like recommend. You have to be careful

with holistic doctors because, you know, you can find a really good one, you can find a really bad one. So maybe, you know, Courtney, about like websites that have those resources to find a holistic doctor. You know, I need to Google this, but, um, there is a website where you can literally just plug in your, uh, zip code and you can find a functional, let's see, medicine doctor. I'll probably just, you know what? I will add this in the show notes for people listening, but there is an actual, it's through IFM, which is the Institute of Functional Medicine. They have basically like a find a doctor directory and you can just plug in your zip code and then they will tell you, I mean, this is how I've found, I've moved a lot in my twenties and this is how I found

every single doctor that I had every time I moved. Um, and then on, I mean, I didn't really touch on this a lot, but mental health is so important and it really does affect your gut because it's all connected. So really, you know, digging deeper and maybe going to see a therapist or maybe talking to a friend and getting out in nature and that can really alter your gut and digestion. Absolutely. And I want to add to that getting sunlight. Get sunlight on your skin every day. Just 10 minutes, you know, and it's better to get it earlier in the day. Um, because that's where you get the most, uh, benefits from the sun

and don't put sunscreen on in those 10 to 20 minutes, your body needs that vitamin D and it's not going to get the vitamin D when you're wearing sunscreen. Yeah, I know. I don't really talk about this a lot, but I actually don't wear sunscreen. I don't either. I will say this. I wear a zinc SPF on my face, but everywhere else I never put it on. And you know what's interesting? I wonder if you have a similar experience. I never get burned ever. No. Yeah. Ever. Cause my body in the beginning, I had to slowly ease my way in. But the thing is, it's also why your body produces melanin. You know, when you're, when you get Tanner, um, that's a protective barrier against the sun. It's so funny. All my friends too, are always like, like every day it's January

right now, or, Oh my God, it's February. Jesus. Um, my friends are always like, how are you so tan in January? I'm like, I don't, I just, I got a base and it never went away. That's awesome. See, look, I didn't know that, that about you about the whole sunscreen thing. I feel like we're, uh, we're kindred souls. Yeah. No, no, no sunscreen buddies. Yes. Watch, I'm going to get burned like next month. Oh God. You know what? I will say this though. I do have to wear it when I'm in places like Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, because in New Zealand and Australia, they actually have a hole in the, um, in the ozone layer or something. Yes, exactly. So where you actually will really get burned if you don't

wear sunscreen. So interesting. Hot tip. Um, but otherwise no, like here in California, I, I never put it on. Yeah. And for people listening, I will link this in the show notes. Um, anyone thinking like you're going to get skin cancer, actually the studies show that people that spend more time indoors all day under artificial lighting for like eight hours a day are more likely to get skin cancer than people that spend a lot of time in the sun. It's actually pretty wild to see the research. Yeah. And, and sunscreen, honestly, unless you find a really good one, like they're so bad for you, the ingredients in there. So it's like, I mean, you and I could talk probably all day about like different stuff and like, you know, I know. I love it. I love it. Well, before we go, I have two more questions for you. One,

do you have any specific protocols that you still do now that you kind of just follow to help keep your gut in line? I do. Yeah. I have a bunch listed in my book, shameless plug. Yeah. You got to plug it, girl. But I would say I definitely try and drink a lot of water. And I eat yogurt every day.

I just eat tubs of yogurt. I love it. And so I make sure I have my yogurt. I feel personally, I feel great after. What's your favorite brand? What do you eat? I like to switch it up. Nice.

Because, yeah, as long as it's full fat, I just have to tell you that full fat yogurt is the best. Um, and just try different brands. And some people agree with other ones. Some are thicker, some are, you know, um, and I, I think it's kind of good to switch it up too, but yeah, full fat plane. Okay. And you have any pro or pro or um what's the word i'm looking for like specifics like do you do organic grass fed always or are you kind of i don't you know what i like to get organic grass fed but i don't i mean even uh i even like the brand fage is that how you say yeah it's like it's super thick um i've never had any issues with it. I think it's from, isn't it from Italy? It's from Greece. That is like the authentic strained way that they make it in Greece. And so

yeah, it's cool. So it's probably a higher quality product anyways, just because of that. I have to think it is because I've definitely tried my fair share of yogurts and like, I always kind of go back to that one, even though I do like to explore. Um, but yeah. Cool. Well, so I ask everyone this question before we go, what are your health non-negotiables? These are things that no matter what and how busy your day is, you make sure that you do this either on a daily basis, or maybe it's like a weekly thing, whatever it is to really, yeah, keep your health in check. Yeah. I would say being with someone, interacting, whether it's your next door neighbor, saying hi, having some sort of social interaction beyond a screen is so helpful.

So yeah. I love that. That's such an important thing that I think, especially in the last couple of years was really lost that sense of community and belonging and just being with people. So important. We need companionship. We need friends. We need, you know, community. Yeah, for sure. Love that. Okay. So for everyone listening, where can they find you and then plug your book again. Let them know where they can find your book too. Okay, so you can find me on Instagram, LittleSipper, L-I-L-S-I-P-P-E-R. And my website, LittleSipper.com.

And my book is called Digest This. And you can get that on Amazon or get it in any Barnes & Noble. They carry it. So yeah, that's where you can find me. Awesome. get it in any Barnes and Noble. They carry it. So yeah, that's where you can find me. Awesome. Thank you so much for coming on today. I loved this conversation. Thank you so much for having me, Courtney.

It's always a pleasure. Yeah, I cannot wait until next time. And we live so close, we need to actually get some coffee sometime. I know. We need to go to lunch or something. Let's do it. Let's make it happen. All right. I love that need to like go to lunch or something. Let's do it. Let's make it happen. All right. Done. Thanks girl. Thanks for listening to today's episode of the real foodology podcast. If you liked this episode, please leave a review in your podcast app to

let me know. This is a resident media production produced by Drake Peterson and edited by Chris McCone. The theme song is called heaven by the amazing singer Georgie spelled with a J. Love you guys so much. See you next week. The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual medical and mental health advice and doesn't constitute a provider patient relationship. I am a nutritionist, but I am not your nutritionist. As always, talk to your doctor or your health team first.