Realfoodology - Our Most Honest Conversation About ‘Big Wellness,’ Pharma & Food Lies with Illie Pt. 1

Episode Date: July 22, 2025

260: My wellness bestie Illie is here and we are not holding back. Her brand, Live Healthillie, promotes clean living through everything from food, to skincare to supplements. Like me, she’s been super vocal about exposing the toxins that lurk in our food supply and pushing for change on a national scale. We yapped so hard that we needed to make the conversation into two parts. This was like therapy for me, and probably will be for you too.  Topics Discussed: → “Big Wellness” compared to “Big Pharma”   → Misconceptions about the MAHA movement  → Beef tallow at Steak 'n Shake → Why eating clean is actually cheaper than people think  → Toxic additives in baby formula   → Why current food guidelines are so backwards Sponsored By: → WeNatal | Get a free month’s supply of WeNatal Magnesium with your first purchase at https://www.wenatal.com/realfoodology  → FPOO | Get your free $39 bottle for just $1 and taste the difference freshness makes at https://www.GetFresh324.com. → CURED | Right now, CURED Nutrition is offering my listeners an exclusive 20% off Serenity Gummies with a monthly subscription. Just head to https://www.curednutrition.com/REALFOODOLOGY and use the code REALFOODOLOGY at checkout. → Seed | Ready to experience a probiotic that actually works? Go to https://www.Seed.com/Realfoodology and use code 25Realfoodology to get 25% off your first month.  Timestamps:  → 00:00:00 - Introduction  → 00:01:37 - MAHA Misconceptions  → 00:08:45 - Healthier Eating Habits for Kids + Adults  → 00:15:35 - “Wellness Influencers” → 00:17:44 - Baby Formula  → 00:20:12 - Why We Can’t Trust Our Medical Systems  → 00:26:32 - Science Needs to Keep Up   → 00:30:45 - Prioritizing Whole Ingredients   → 00:33:00 - The Math of Clean Eating   → 00:40:46 - Link Between Diet and Health  → 00:43:52 - What is “Big Wellness”?  → 00:50:06 - Michelle Obama + Kids’ Health  → 00:53:20 - Kellogg's Corruption  → 00:54:38 - Studies + Regulations: E.U. vs. U.S.   → 00:58:07 - How Registered Dietitians Give Big Companies a Pass   → 01:00:29 - Our Current Food Guidelines Don’t Work   Check Out: → Instagram | Iliriana Balaj  → Instagram | Live Healthillie  Check Out Courtney:  →  LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE →  Check Out My new FREE Grocery Guide! →  @realfoodology →  www.realfoodology.com →  My Immune Supplement by 2x4 →  Air Dr Air Purifier →  AquaTru Water Filter →  EWG Tap Water Database Produced By: Drake Peterson

On today's episode of the Real Foodology Podcast. If these RDs, these Western minded RDs and these Western minded doctors did their job, people would not have to go to quote unquote wellness influencers to try to figure out what is wrong with them. Hello friends, welcome back to another episode of the Real Foodology Podcast. Today's guest is a repeat guest and also a dear friend of mine, Illy Balah. You probably know her on Instagram as Hellfully. And I had such a fun time with this episode.

This was not like a normal podcast episode that I do. And I mean that in the best way because we were really just in flow of just kind of chatting back and forth. And it very much felt like just a conversation that she and I have as friends. And I think you're really gonna enjoy this episode. We talk about a lot of different, just strange stuff that's happening online right now. Like this notion of quote unquote, big wellness,

as if it's competing with big pharma. And trying to paint wellness in this light of it being really bad and trying to compare it to the big pharma, which is just ridiculous. And you will hear our thoughts and our takes on that. We also talk about our thoughts on beef tallow and its resurgence in our food supply and companies like Steak and Shake

now cooking with beef tallow. So we talk about that. We talk about the anti-Maha movement, which is just a really bizarre thing that's happening online right now. And just, I mean, so much more. This was a long episode, so we split this into two parts. This is part one, so tune in next week for part two. Ily, I'm so happy to have you back in the podcast. I'm so excited to be here. We are

going to talk about all the things that we have been talking about in our text behind closed doors. Exactly. For a while now. We're bringing the texts to the big screen. Let's go. Okay, so we were just talking about this and I just want to dive into it and I wish we had been recording during that, but I digress.

So we're going to try to remember everything we just said. Yeah. So we're talking about a specific, let's say quote unquote doctor on Instagram. I don't really wanna name names, but she's very confusing to me because she makes an attack on people that are trying to change things. So there's like two things happening right now

where she is naming all the issues that we have in our food system right now, but then she's attacking all the people that are trying to change it. So we keep talking about, we're like, okay, well, what is the solution? What is your solution? Yeah, I mean, this is just one of those things

where it was like, I just have to, I cannot be bothered with people who aren't solution-based. Like you and I are just such people that always, like we want to fix things and we want to move forward. You know, we're just business people in that way. And like we've healed so much in our own life. Or I'm like, just tell me what we can do. And I think the maja movement in general has brought out just obviously anything

politics is going to be polarizing. Right. There's always going to be like, I don't like that because it's politics. And I get that as somebody who, like, has been neutral pretty much my whole life. Like, I've always gone back and forth. And I I'm like tell me why I should like be part of this You're like why I should like that, you know, but I think watching a lot of the anti maha content I can't believe that's even a freaking word like anti maha It just feels like it's more like well, we don't like the messenger. Yeah versus like the message at hand There's a lot of things

I don't like that people say and maybe I don't like the messenger versus like the message at hand. There's a lot of things I don't like that people say, and maybe I don't like that it's either what they say or the person that it's coming from, but I could admit, okay, this is probably a good route that we're going. And I think my issue with a lot of these anti-Maha people, whether it's doctors or dieticians or whatever, is like you're just attacking the people that are trying to make a change in the world. Like, I've just seen you evolve in so many ways, just over the past couple months,

from going to Kellogg's now to speaking at universities and like going to people going to Congress and Senate and just like really trying to make a difference. Like, we're not just making videos on the internet anymore. You know, like we are going to schools and we are rallying for things. And I've even connected with my local politician just recently to be like, what kind of bills are even being passed in Florida right now?

Because I have no clue and I want to know and I want to know what I can advocate for. And now we have a bill that was also like Florida is also trying to ban artificial food dyes, which is great, you know, so it's like, I want to get behind that because I want to actually create change. I don't want to just be a quote unquote wellness influencer. So just like seeing people like her just kind of poke jabs at people, but also sharing the same exact messages that we've all been sharing. Like, yeah, the system is fucked. Like, no shit, Sherlock. Like, hello.

That's why we're all out here fighting for our lives. That's why we have a maha movement because the system is literally hot garbage and it's been like that for a generation like general literal generations You know and like we were even talking about the whole formula thing like I get everybody was scared because at first they were talking about like we're gonna do the vaccines or we're gonna do fluoride and Everything's gonna be beef tallow and like yeah, like I think we both agreed, like that's not making America healthier. But I also don't think people realize there's so many bottom level things

that we could be doing for now while we work from the other end. It's like kind of like burning a match at both ends to kind of get to the middle. Like that's how I'm viewing Maha right now, is like, okay, what are like little things that we can do? Cool, we can advocate for like getting rid of artificial dyes in our food system or like getting rid of what was it? We just got rid of red two, red three, red three.

Well, actually, West Virginia just passed yesterday as we're recording this, they just passed a full ban on food dyes. Yeah. And they're going to be pulling out of school lunches. Here's the thing that people are not understanding about all of this. I get the pushback. People are saying, okay, well, you take the artificial dyes out and it's not going to change the health of the food. It is still going to be like sugary corn balls, right? And then there's a lot of parents that are like, well, just don't feed that to your children. Well, okay. So a lot of people, for good reason, but a lot of people like to talk about the lower socioeconomic

Children specifically. Yeah, and this is a huge argument and pushback of accessibility and affordability Yeah Well, there are a lot of children where their only meals that they're getting at school every day are through the school system and guess Where they're getting all their artificial food eyes from from the school system So if we can make these little changes over time, yeah, it's not going to happen overnight, but let's start pulling the things out that we know that are harming people. This is what I don't understand. We're not going to change all this overnight, but if we can start pulling these little things out, pull the artificial dyes out first, then we can go for the preservatives and then we

can go for other things. Those will make differences, especially in those children who are only getting fed meals at their school? Yeah, people don't realize that whole aspect of we live in a society where, yes, 100% there are socioeconomic disparities throughout the whole country and there are a plethora, if not thousands, if not millions of children right now that their only meal for lunch is whatever they're getting at school, like you said. Why wouldn't we want to try to at least change that for now while we fix the entire, like exactly because also people don't realize SNAP and all of these who is creating the

meals for that those programs and deciding what is nutrition, the American Academy of Dietetics. So we're never going to, I don't want to say never, never, because you never know what's gonna happen, but we are trying to change even just that curriculum and what people are assuming, like what they realize is the food pyramid, right? Like what we look at is like the now it's like my plate or whatever. It's like my plate, you have like a glass of milk and grains and vegetables, like that is what is contributing to what children are eating every single day at school.

So we're not going to be able to change that curriculum overnight, but we can do is force it from the other end, which is now we have to force brands like Kellogg's who are very reluctant to change their artificial dyes and get rid of those dyes in their cereal. And now they kind of have no choice because entire states are banning these ingredients entirely. So that's going to cause one of two things, brands to have to force to change their entire food, like the way that they're creating their food and putting in better dyes through like natural ways.

And the second thing is it also makes room for new and clean brands, like for example, like Lovebird to come in and have those opportunities because now schools are going to be like, so what are we going to be able to feed our kids? Our kids still need cereals and they still need all these other things that are easy and non-perishable. And this gives room for other small businesses to come in and offer your children better meals. Yes.

And actually speaking of school lunches, I got a really cool question from a student last night. So I went and spoke at Hillsdale College and one of the students brought up, so when Michelle Obama tried to revamp our whole school system, our school lunches, a lot of the conversation and pushback was from teachers that were noticing the kids were like throwing away a lot of their food, they weren't eating a lot of it.

And the girl asked me, she said, how could we actually, how can we combat that? Because a lot of these kids are not wanting to eat these healthier options Of course like if a kid is given a choice between like a Domino's pizza slice and like broccoli and chicken Of course They're all gonna choose the pizza and what I said is that we need to start looking at food from an entirely different lens And what we're doing right now because what Michelle Obama did was essentially like, they took all the sodium out, they took all the salt out, which we've been villainizing salt, and actually salt is really good for you,

you need it for electrolyte balance in your body. And then they were giving them bland broccoli, and I think they were still even giving them pizza and stuff, but it was all garbage. And I was like, look, what we need to do is just make really simple foods for kids. Get a really clean pasta that's two ingredients like Durham wheat and semolina. Like a chickpea pasta.

Like it doesn't have to be like rocket science, you know, like, yeah. And put butter on it, put some salt on it and put some Parmesan cheese and done. Kids will eat that up. And yeah, high protein with the chickpeas and Parmesan. And some chicken and just feed them real food. But we're essentially like opening these plastic bags and dumping them in fryers and then feeding them to kids and we're either giving them these highly ultra processed food like products like chicken fingers and all this stuff or

they're getting like these really bland like I feel like it reminds me of like nutrition from like the 80s where it was just like have bland chicken and broccoli and like a rice cake. Yeah, it was just it. Yeah, and broccoli and like a rice cake mmm yeah Yeah, no, I don't even want to eat that no I think that's also what people think like the wellness space is is just eating bland foods when now people You know now it goes like full circle to just like the beef tallow talk like yeah, we don't think that You know frying fries and beef tallow makes the entire establishment healthier by no means. But I will say, like, versus people putting vegetable oil, endowsing everything in vegetable oil,

because it really is about that ratio. And if kids are getting it at home and now they're getting it in school, because they've been told it's not that bad and it's not healthy, and we're not giving them the full complexity of what is actually bad about the canola or bad about the vegetable oil, people just think, okay, then it must be fine, because this is what, like, kind of the anti-Maja side is promoting. And they try to poke holes, and I understand, because that's what politics in general does. But you're essentially just agreeing with us when we say, like, yeah, we don't think that it's making a fast food chain healthier, you know, but then like I said full circle goes to

There are a lot of people where that is their only option there are food deserts and like what is a food desert? You don't have fresh food around you only have like gas stations and fast food chains so if we can improve the type of food that fast food chains that these people like have act these communities have access to then we're slowly improving their health over time you like yeah I'm personally me I'm not going to go to like a steak and shake I think that's what it's called like I'm not I'm personally not gonna go to a steak and shake just because they're frying their fries and beef tallow like yeah I I just I'm not going to do that. I know it's not healthy for me, but I know like where a lot of the steak and shakes are,

that's a lot of the, like the only food a lot of people have in that area, like in those areas. They don't have a whole foods. They don't have farmers markets and things like that. If you're like me and you're thinking about starting a family someday or even just building a strong foundation for your health, I have to tell you about WeNatal. I had the founders on the podcast and I highly recommend going back and listening to it. It was such an amazing episode. And

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but some of them or a lot of them don't have the education around this yet because it just hasn't hit those communities yet. And a lot of them don't have the education around this yet because it just hasn't hit those communities yet. And a lot of them are being told by dietitians and doctors that canola oil is heart healthy. So if we can make these little swaps over time, yeah, again, like are we going to go eat at Steak and Shake and are we going to say that it's healthy? No. But if we can start slowly getting all the additives out, I think it's pretty incredible that in general, we're just having conversations around this now because we do know, like for example, we know that canola oil when it's when it's

being fried every single day over and over again, it creates these carcinogenic compounds in there. So at least like look, they're going to go there regardless, like they're going to go to Steak and Shake regardless. Yeah, we can at least start swapping out some of the ingredients for stuff that are a little bit healthier. Are we saying that going in and getting fries at Steak and Shake is a healthy, nutritious meal?

No. No. Everyone together. No. It's just, it's so ridiculous to think that, but that's, that's unfortunately the like shit that we're seeing on social media of people trying to minimize all the work that, you know, quote unquote wellness influencers, which remind you a lot, it's so funny

that it's always these people that are like, my credentials and they're always like, boasting their credentials, but then they're minimizing all the hundreds of doctors that are part of this movement as just wellness influencers when that's just clearly not the case. And to be honest, I am proud to be one of the quote unquote wellness influencers

that can advocate for change, you know, that did get invited to go and rally against Kellogg's. And now I'm working with like politicians in, you know, Florida to try to really advocate for better food, like better food systems. Like I'm part, I'm, I'm happy to do that instead of, you know, like sitting and be like, guys, this is what I ate today. And this is my relay therapy. And this is what, you know, like no hate to that, but like, that's not what what I do so it's like to minimize and to be honest those wellness employers aren't even involved in my like I want nothing to do with this like because they're literally hating on us and you know what is I find really incredibly confusing is a lot of these people that are

hating are the ones that are so they're fighting us in every direction so yeah fighting is saying that people are in food deserts and all they have access to is fast food so let them have their fast food because they don't have anything else that's accessible and affordable. And then we go, okay, we're trying to meet people where they are. So let's slowly start like changing some of the ingredients in the fast food communities. And then they're going, what? Oh my God.

And then they're fighting us on changing the ingredients. Literally what do they want? What do they think is the solution? I don't get it. You want it to stay the same or? But then they're like, oh, it's a systemic issue So we need to go to like the top and it's like have you seen how hard it is just to get one thing banned Like just one thing like, you know, it took 30 years to ban a red guy number three

Are we 30 years you think I'm gonna wait until my my kids have kids? You know what I'm saying? Like no the system been built like, like it's literally been built like this. The easiest thing, which is still very hard, is to slowly get these additives and preservatives out of our food. That is like first course of action. And even what RFK Junior is doing right now, to even just say, hey, FDA, let's go back

and let's even review how, you know, we haven't reviewed formula since the 1970s. Let's start, let's do that, right? Because the formula industry is pretty much dominated by like the same three brands, right? And it's all corn syrup based. And then any other brand that tries to come in has such a hard time because you have to follow the guidelines that were made in the freaking 70s. So all these new brands that are coming in and trying to do it without the canola oil, without the vegetable, are having such a hard time because those have always been the rules since the 70s. So now if we go,

just now if we go back and we start to evaluate the research, what is it to say? What if corn syrup isn't the best way? What if it's coconut? What if it's, I don't know, I'm just throwing other oils out there, but what if it's isn't the best way? What if it's coconut? What if it's, I don't know, I'm just throwing other oils out there. But what if it's something completely, entirely different? Who are we to say that the way that it's been done up until now that people advocate for like, this is the way that it has to be, it has to be corn syrup, because ABC, whatever scientific data, what's to say that that's actually how it's supposed to be? Well, we haven't studied this in so long. And we know that a lot of the funding is coming from

the food companies themselves, because of something called gross, which is a loophole that we have here in the United States where the companies, the foxes are guarding the henhouse. The companies say themselves, they go to the FDA and they say, well, we studied this and we know that it's healthy. And then they put it in all their products. And this is exactly what happened with corn syrup. We are not putting corn syrup in baby formula because we think it's healthy. It's because we have a surplus of corn in this country. It's literally cheap and we have so much of it. We have so much in excess that we're putting it in our formula. But then we're telling our dieticians and our doctors to tell moms that, oh, well, would they put this in there because they're really concerned about the health

of the babies. And then what you were saying about the formula companies that are the ones that are trying to do better for our health, not only are they having a hard time, they literally legally are not allowed to write on the bottle that it is infant formula. They have to write toddler formula on there in order to get around all of this because they're not using the seed oils that the FDA has said that are absolutely needed in baby formula. And look, we just all we're asking is to study it. Like what I would love, I'm going to, it's going to be really interesting to see what happens and you and I have texted about this. When they start conducting these studies and if they do find out that corn syrup is not the healthiest, that we probably shouldn't be putting canola oil and soybean oil in our

formulas, are these RDs that are right now just fighting us? Like the science says, the science says, are they going to change their tune because now the science is going to be updated or are they still going to be fighting us? Yeah, there's a couple of foot said like to see in mouths when this comes back around because that's the whole thing. I think also and people don't realize like the what a lot of people have been in wellness was not because we followed the science. It's because like we will we follow the science and up until we got sick.

Yeah, like that's what we're doing We follow the science until it got us sick And then we had to scurry off and find different ways to heal ourselves and it usually came back to Avoiding a lot of the other things don't don't get me wrong I see so much bullshit on social media Like I see it and I can see it from both sides like I sometimes go on my own for you page and I see tried and true wellness influencers that are really just promoting. Yeah I get it, just because you healed yourself doesn't make you a nutrition expert.

You shouldn't be handing out meal plans and doing all these things. I 100% I'm down with that. I get that. There is really no regulation. But, like you and I have said so many times, if these RDs, these Western-minded RDs and these Western-minded doctors did their job, people would not have to go to, quote-unquote, wellness influencers to try to figure out what is wrong with them. We would not have to do, I would have never had to do that. If my OB-GYN listened to me about how I felt on birth control,

you think I would have done an experiment on myself, be like, hmm, what would happen if I got off? Yeah, I felt terrible and I felt like, should I had to do it all on my own? But if they actually helped me, that would be such a, I'd have such a different experience. I would actually have trust in the medical system. Be like, oh my God, you actually helped me.

Now the only person I freaking trust is myself. And you know, now I can use my own discernment but they get mad at people but then you guys are neglecting people and you're gaslighting people like I just posted the other day that there was an OBGYN who was like you know birth control isn't contributing to fertility problems or whatever and you have hun she had to turn off her comments but hundreds of women were like yeah that wasn't the case for me. So where do you think and then those same OBGYNs and doctors and Western minded RDs are going to go on social media and be like, oh, I got my degree and people still listen to

wellness influencers. Well, I wonder why exactly. Well, because they are not they're not realizing that they have such a bias and a lot of their education was funded largely by the big pharmaceutical companies. And look, we are not here to say that, you know, all medicine is bad. Obviously, thank God, we wouldn't be here without antibiotics. Like, we're not dumb. But it's situations like this, where women are literally being put on birth control for 10 plus years, not being communicated to about what the actual risks and side effects are of birth control. I don't know if a lot of

people know this, but when they first introduced birth control for like our parents generation, they were only meant to be on it for like weeks at a time. And now women are being put on it for years, years, years. And then they're going to their doctor and they're saying, well, I'm having all these side effects and like, I don't feel great and I'm depressed. And then they get put on SSRI and they're not being communicated. The fact that most of the time, if you're on birth control, you end up depressed because it's depleting your nutrients, it messes with your brain, it messes with your hormones. Like, we're not communicating this with women. And then like you just said,

every single one of us have a story. I can guarantee you that everyone listening has some story where they went to their doctor and they were like, I'm feeling like X, Y, and Z, and they sent you home being like, it's all in your head, or you just have a little anxiety anxiety or here, just take this prescription drug and you're sitting there going, no, I don't feel good and something is off and they're not doing their due diligence anymore because they have now been taught, follow the science.

You have to follow this, you know, and look, I'm not like shitting on science. Obviously, thank God we have innovations all the time in science. This is part of the problem is that a lot of this science that a lot of these doctors and these RDs that are referencing, it's outdated. We have since as a population, anecdotally seen all of this happening in the last like 10 years of the birth control

is a great example of that. All these women are waking up being like, what have I been on? I'm having these horrible side effects and then we're not studying it and then we're gaslighting women. After a really long busy day, all I want to do is just relax, chill on the couch and hang out with Hector. That's where cured nutrition comes in.

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people even go, well, where's the study to support that? Because nutrition science is like the most wishy washy type of science. You and I can eat exactly the same and have wildly different outcomes. Yes. There's so many different systems in the body. I can eat a mango, and you can eat a mango,

and we can have a completely different reaction to that mango. And I'm not talking allergies. I'm just talking metabolically in general. We see this literally in twins twins where they eat exactly the same and they have completely different outcomes. So for us to be like, where's the study to support that?

When it comes to basic nutrition, like the fact that I get, where's the study to support that comment under me just saying, don't consume ultra processed foods. And be like, where's that? I don't know, how about where's the study to support that eating exactly this way

for 50 years is good? Because according to our statistics, it's not looking good. It looks really bad. Like a board mission, whatever we've been doing up until this point, everyone needs to stop like, Well, if you want the science, how about the fact that people are eating? I don't even know. Someone should do a study on this on average, how many different additives, preservatives, different just fake foods. The hundreds.

Every day. Yeah. And we have no idea what all of those in combination together in the body are doing. Maybe they're not doing anything, but can we study it? I mean, they've never been tested, right? Like you can test like just canola, right? But we've never tested like the combination of canola and, you know, artificial dyes together. Like, what is that together?

And the thing is what people don't realize too, and this is what a lot of people goes over their head, like, yes, single ingredients have like been maybe studied briefly or they go through that grass, like generally recognize the safe, but the combination of all these additives in one thing, like nobody studied what a hostess cupcake is going to do to us over time. Like if we only eat a hostess cupcake over time. I mean, we kind of saw it with like, Super Size Me, we're all traumatized by that documentary. But like, you know, we all saw, I mean, and that ended up being like not quite accurate because he was like an alcoholic or whatever, but I digress.

You know, like he was just like he's like, actually had bigger demons. But you know, like we've seen like what people that only eat that type of food go through. And it's actually crazy. My friend, she went, she had a viral video because she had to go to the hospital for, she went to like a surgery center. She had surgery on her elbow. And in the, you know, in the vending machines, the, they has horrible crap in there. Like it's just like disgusting food, you know, in the vending machines, the, it has horrible crap in there. Like it's just like disgusting food, you know?

Yeah, it's not food. It's just like shitty snacks and whatever. And I, she has a health page. So she posted the vending machine and she's like, this is the vending machine that's like in hospitals. Like it's disgusting. There were, like she got so much hate for that video

because people were like, if I'm going into surgery, I want a can't I want candy I don't want a salad Like the stress like I'm so stressed out. Like I just want a sweet treat I don't want an apple like this is what this is what we've turned into like her comments were so bad I literally told her to turn off the comments I'm like I've never seen hate like this in my whole life And I'm like, I don't know if it's like because this anti-Maha movement where it's becoming even worse or people like just hate anything healthy.

But it's like, that's not the flux that you think it is. Like if you're going like somebody was like, I'm literally going into cancer treatment. I don't want an apple. Like I don't want to eat a salad. Like I don't want chicken breast. Like they're like, I want candy. I want this. And I'm like, the cognitive dissonance that's going on, like nobody's saying that you can't have cake and you can't have fries

It doesn't have to be the worst option It does not have to be the worst option. I have the least restrictive diet I actually was more restrictive following 80 20 because every time I had that 20% I'm like, okay. Well, I can't have that anymore because I already had my candy for the week I already had my 20% diner food and then I had had to really hunker down the rest of my 80%, where now, we're going to grab dinner, I'm probably going to have some dessert. I'm not shy about it, you know what I'm saying?

I'm way less restrictive eating a whole food diet than I was trying to always find a sweet treat snack that's like Oreos and milkshakes. This is what I think a lot of general Americans don't understand yet. I think some of them are starting to wake up too, but this is why I get so frustrated by these accounts that are just fully attacking Maha on every level.

Why can't we have a vending machine that has chocolate bars in there, that just is made with real ingredients? Yeah, give me some Hugh Kitchen chocolate bars. You wouldn't even know the difference, especially the milk chocolate one, it tastes identical to a Hershey's bar. Or get some unreal bar like they make one

That's like a Snickers bar and it tastes so similar like we're not saying we're gonna take away You know We want to take away is actually a healthier vending machine brand that I saw an airport once and it sells like meals I'll have this over fridge is it farmers fridge is it that one? It's like a white I think it's it might be that one has like full meals in it Yeah, like meals like why wouldn't you want that in a hospital where people are going to be there for hours and you could use a meal? Like I've been in hospitals, first of all, my mom works at a cancer hospital. So I've seen what are in the vending machines

and it's not pretty. And everyone knows now that like her daughter is healthily. So like the, like the nurses always ask like, what should I eat? And what's I drink? Like I get it. You guys don't have my mom, like I had to convince my mom's like have time for a meal and stuff because she's like I'm not gonna go to a vending machine and get like a freaking skittles you know like I need a meal imagine we had farmers fridge whatever the heck it was called all over hospitals in America like how do can somebody rally can we get like a go like I'll go fund me going for them they should be in every hospital I well for them. They should be in every hospital. Well, I think Sweetgreen should be in every hospital.

That too. Yeah. Give me those french fries and that. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like there's so many better options. And like Sweetgreen is like a perfect example of a brand that like wants to do better and is doing better. And they can go literally nationwide. True food. Obviously we know like how amazing they're doing and people do want it. It I just that that comment section really shocked me. And it just, it was scary, dude. I'm like, wouldn't wouldn't you want healthy food if you're going through surgery or God forbid, cancer treatment? Like,

isn't that what? What does that make you feel good? Yeah. And it doesn't again, you can still have the the cakes and the candies and things just haven it be made with real food. That's it. It does not have to be so complicated, you know? And I get people wanna talk about it's more expensive and like I totally understand that part of it too. That's a symptom of our broken foods. Exactly, and then it goes full circle, you know? Well, and this is, I love to talk about this actually,

because people always say, and look, I am by no means saying that like, some healthier options are more expensive yeah but if you're focusing on more whole real foods it's actually cheaper now just yeah I like ground beef and beans and eggs well eggs right now or talking about the eggs but in general they usually are like a healthier like cheaper more affordable option all these ultra processed fake foods are actually really expensive now and fast food is really expensive now too.

Fast food is actually so expensive. It's insane. Oh my god I don't even want to tell you we were so busy like obviously my husband and I we work together and just some days we're just so busy with just live healthily and stuff and we we went like I think it was like a month we were eating a lot of true food and just like eating like we have like a sourdough pizzeria like by our house and stuff like that So we're like eating out a little bit more and like our bill was so Crazy at the end of the month like and it's crazy is like true foods like really not that bad price-wise like sweet greens

Really not that bad They we have like a Bolle which is like a bolt like you make like just healthier bowls and stuff And our bill was so crazy and literally the next month were like we're only cooking and it was literally I want to say Like not even a fr, like it was like more than half less, like cheaper just making simple meals because like we're also not snackers. I remember just when I used to eat a lot of different types of snacks. Like, yeah, if you want to get all the fancy snacks and like always buying like the chocolate and the chips and the candy, of course it adds up.

But if you like you plan out your meals, like I'll have salmon, like I'll make a stew which lasts me like two days like a chuck roast I make a lot of soups and steaks like those Really? It does not add up in the way that people think it adds up and like rice is really cheap beans are really cheap Like you just get shit in bulk grains are really cheap in general like you have oatmeal Like oatmeal can be great if it's like really simple and organic, you know, like, I think we've made it so we've gone down, we've gone down the pipeline so far, that people really like have enjoyed the propaganda so much that

it's so expensive to eat healthy that people don't even try anymore. Like we've just ingrained it in our heads that it's so expensive. Like don't even bother like looking at the comparison because it's just so expensive when like even getting a happy meal today is like at least $10, $10 a meal. I could make two meals for $10. Exactly. I could feed me and my fiance almost all day on $10. Yeah, with just brown beef and avocados, you know, and I'm getting like all the nutrition that I need. So yeah, I think that's a lot of the propaganda too is when you have a bunch of these like Western

RDs that are telling people it's expensive and you can't do it and you have no time to cook and you are less fortunate and you don't know how to do like you don't know how to cook well because they're not teaching you like you're just making people feel really dumb honestly, like it's offensive how dumb you're making people feel. Well, and they make up a lot of stories too. I had this one woman, they're always white. I'm just going to say it. It's always white women that are making these comments.

And this woman wrote out this wildly long comment about how I don't even remember what the video was, but she was talking about how, well, how dare you talk about healthier options, Courtney, because some people don't even have refrigerators. And I sent it to a friend of mine, and he was like, bro, he's like, what? Like, everyone has... Like, you're telling people they don't have... Like, I feel like that's also just a portion of, like, racial profiling.

Like, you're just assuming that somebody lives, like, less than you, that they don't have all the, like, basic necessities. Even Albanians do, like, I come from an immigrant household. Like, we didn't grow up eating crazy food like my mom and my dad always cooked like Albanian food and it was my dad I remember him telling me growing up like a sweet treat for him was bread with sugar like you would put sugar on it and that was like a sweet treat and like

Albanians especially and I'm sure a lot of like immigrants can relate a lot of the meals that we made were usually especially, and I'm sure a lot of immigrants can relate, a lot of the meals that we made were usually flour, water, and egg, and they found a way to make 30 different meals just from those three things. Almost every Albanian-based food is flour, water, and egg. My mom can make five different types of breakfast just with those three ingredients, and then whatever they had extra, which was meat,

or it would be spinach or cheese, then they would like add that in and now you have like 20 different meals So like literally just being an immigrant in general has made us so much more Resilient when it came to like just because you were living in poverty didn't mean you didn't have nutrition You know what I'm saying? like my dad came from literally nothing in Albania going through the war and stuff and Like the stories that he would tell me that like they always just had food because his mom just Was so versatile with the things that she had it was a privilege to be able to eat out Yeah, you know where today now we're telling people that it's a privilege to cook at home

Which it's like so it's become so opposite and again I do blame a lot of it on just the way that our system has been built But it's been built like that on purpose. I mean, I showed you the video I made on the Victory Gardens, which was like from World War II, where even the White House had a garden because they were trying to ration all the food and they said, okay, well, we're all struggling with the war. A lot of our fresh food is going to, you know, war-ridden, like where the war is, where soldiers are. So if people want to make food, you have to grow a garden. And like so, so much of the United States

used to be gardens. And then once, you know, Chef Boyardee and like Nestle came around, it was actually the Spaniards and really like the Black Americans like living in America that were maintaining the gardens. And it was more of a privilege to be able to get canned and ready-made food in America. Like for the upper white class, yeah, because that's how it was.

To see that change over the past couple of decades is like the most heart-wrenching thing. And it's just unfortunate that like, I don't know if we'll ever be able to like flip it again, but I know that like now with this movement, which has never happened before, it might be a possibility. Like, this might be a real thing that could happen for us, where we can see this completely change, where it's no longer a privilege to be able to just make a meal at home, and it's cheaper than going out, you know?

Like, we might be able to do that. And, yeah, I just think people are, in touch with a lot of like the reality of like what it means to especially like I said, I'm coming from like an immigrant household, like my parents would be like, we can't eat out because we can't afford it. Yeah, like that's how I grew up. Like I wasn't my all my friends were like, let's go to McDonald's. Let's go to pizzeria. My parents like we can't afford that.

Like we have food at home, you know, what's amazing about that is that you may and you may have not even realized that at the time, but you were actually eating so much healthier than your friends. Yeah, for sure. And at the time, I'm like, I want pizza, I want McDonald's, yeah? And at the time, you're probably like, oh, like I feel so poor and like a loser because all my friends are growing McDonald's. I had a similar story, a little bit different. I don't come from an immigrant family,

but one of my best girlfriends growing up would go to Burger King. Like almost every single night, her parents would take her to Burger King and she'd get all the toys. So she's rich. Exactly. And my mom was like, my mom has always been very into nutrition. And so she would, I would beg her, like you remember when McDonald's started having like beanie babies and all my god. Yeah. Those are the best. I was like, I need all the beanie babies. Collect them all. And my mom was like, no,

like I'm making you food at home. And I fought her and I fought her. She still brings this up like probably once a month. We're just like, hey, remember when you wanted McDonald's and Burger King every night and I didn't let you? Are you glad now? And it is. It's so funny. You're so right. It is. It's completely flip flopped, whereas now it's considered a privilege to just be able to cook and eat at home. And look, I know that we're gonna get some pushback from people saying it's about the convenience, but the convenience is killing us. And I get it. But it's at a certain point we have to recognize and realize that the convenience is actually killing us.

And when you make something a priority, I don't care how busy you are, you make time and room for a priority. You do. Like, I used to work three jobs. I remember I would call my mom from the bathroom sobbing every night from this freaking job that I worked at where I was like, I would go in at like 8pm and I would leave at like 2am and then I would go work at Starbucks at like 7am the next morning. I was so tired and I was barely scraping by. But even then, like this is right when I started learning about all this food and about our food system and I went out of my way. The only days that I had off I was cooking and I was

prepping and I was bringing all my meals with me that I made from scratch at home and I would put it in the fridge or like I would do whatever I would like bring it in a cooler bag and leave it in the back. So like you make time for the things that are priorities and unfortunately we're in a time and place in our lifetime where if you do not make time for your wellness you'll be forced to make time for your illness. Like 74% of Americans are obese right now. Yeah. I think also if we're like continue to push this narrative that people can't do it. Yeah. And I think that's coddling them. Yeah. I mean if you if I'm told every single day you can't do it. Yeah. And I think that's... We're coddling them. Yeah. I mean, if I'm told every single day, you can't eat healthy, it's so expensive, you

can't eat healthy because you have no time. It's so hard to eat healthy, you're going to just want to go right back. I'm never going to do it. And it's this subconscious propaganda that we're getting every single day, that it's really hard, that it's impossible, and we're not giving the tools to people to make better choices, right? Like if we're telling people that everything is fine and moderation and everything's a chemical, well like it doesn't really give room for people to be inquisitive about the choices that they make. You know, like they're never going to think about, you know, making the correlation between their

chronic symptoms and the foods that they eat. I mean, my doctors didn't when I first had all my health problems. They didn't even think to put two and two together. And that's just been like a trend in the modern medicine space is they don't put two and two together. And any, you know, more holistic minded doctor with the same PhD is telling them that there is a dietary correlation. They're like, well, you're lying to people or you're just like, uh, pseudoscience and it's just a load of bullshit. And now you have two people

with the same degree arguing and they can't agree. It's wild. Well, and it's actually not helping people. Like I know you have a story where you got sick and I have a similar story where I had crazy eczema, eczema all under my eyes and all in my lid of my eyes and I could never So many people have eczema now, it's like crazy. It's crazy. Everyone has it and I also had in the back of my scalp and for years like I was really struggling with it. It was embarrassing. It was literally under my eyes. I had it on my face too. I like as a kid it was just horrible. And it's horrible. Yeah. And they'd give me, you know, the creams and the steroids and all the crap that never did anything about it, by the way. No one ever once said anything to me about my diet. It wasn't until I started finally getting into healthy eating, I cut out gluten, I stopped eating ultra-processed foods. It was literally gone like this, and it has never come back.

But we're not telling people that. We're just putting them on more creams, more steroids. We're telling them, oh, it's absolutely nothing to do with your diet. Just go on an anti-inflammatory. And then we're not telling them to change their diet. So no wonder, this is another thing actually that I wanted to talk to you about, is I'm seeing this trend now online where everyone's, not everyone, there's a subset of people online pushing back on the wellness community,

and they're calling it big wellness. They're like, big wellness makes so much much money and it's predatory on people Well big wellness exists because we have a pharmaceutical Industrial complex that is exactly what we just said people are going to their doctors and they're saying I'm suffering Like I have a rash on my face that will not go away and you just keep giving me more medicine and you are telling Me to my face that my diet has nothing to do with it So what do you think people are gonna to do? People are going to start seeking other alternatives because they're seeing online that people like you and me would go on and we're like,

hi, I used to have eczema. It's gone now because I changed my diet. So big, big, quote, unquote, big wellness is just a symptom of a broken system that's not actually helping people. So yeah. So, okay, so wellness is making money, but at least it's making money off of people that are getting well. Yeah, like what are we mad about people going to the gym and eating healthy? Oh my god, call the police. What is going on? Like literally, call the SWAT team and get all these people out of the gyms. Like what are they doing? Right? And look, I'm not saying- I don't understand what people are so angry about. I get people are trying to make the correlation that like, the wellness industry is a 6.3 trillion dollar industry

and that big pharma is only like, less than that, whatever the freaking number is. I don't know if I believe that, but okay. No, because they also said whoever was making this big like graph or whatever They were pulling and they were pulling in so much stuff like they were pulling in so much random stuff I mean do I believe that it's worth a lot yet because that you're putting in supplements and all these different types of gyms And you're also putting like workout gear and anything that would be related to like bettering somebody's life And we're mad about that like what what would you like people to do more medicine? That's what we need more, stop going to the gym,

just take Ozempic. Like, what are we, I don't actually understand what the correlation between like touting big wellness is. Like, what are you trying, I don't get the, like when I saw that I was like, what are we mad at here? If people are going to the spa? I can't get a facial? Like, are we mad about that? No, I don't. Yeah. When I saw the video, like when I saw the whoever freaking posted it and then they were like, I'm like, okay, I now I just know who

to block because if you repost this, I'm just gonna block you because I don't understand like, what we're upset about. I'm happy people are spending money to go to the gym. And guess what? Even if you're on medication, you should still be doing things to better your life. You should still be going to the gym and eating well and going to the spa and spending money on, you know, supplements and things like that. Like, I wish somebody told me that birth control depletes so many different nutrients, because at least I could have taken those and not been like literally put like postpartum after birth control. Like my hair was falling out. I had acne, I had like no energy. Like I wish we were told that. Like I have so many friends that were like on medicine for a long time and they were never told that it

depletes like really important nutrients, whether it's B vitamins or different types of minerals. And they're like I wish somebody even told me that. But now we have like a slew of people that are like supplements like oh you're a supplement shill. Like you just want to sell supplements and it's like Okay, you're like are we like well? We're mad at vitamin D now like what are we fish oils are bad like people can't take magnesium Like are we denying the science of that now? I know like what are we talking about and why are people mad that people are making a living off of people getting better? This is what I don't understand look I understand there will always be bad actors in every single industry ever It just is the fact. Yeah, that's everywhere be people taking advantage

But for the most part this entire movement is grounded on a bunch of people that either are looking to get better because they don't feel good or They have figured out something that is helping a lot of people and they want to help people Yeah So why are we so mad that people are making money off of people getting well, but we're not mad at pharmaceutical drugs that are just like predatory on people? I mean, think about the average American. I don't actually know what the number is.

We should look this up. But the average American is on X amount of prescription drugs. Majority of that is because someone gets put on one drug and then they get put on another drug to counteract the side effects. Oh, and then they have more side effects. And then they have to put on one drug and then they get put on another drug to counteract the side effects. Oh and then they have more side effects and then they have put on another drug and then all of a sudden they're on like six drugs that are counteracting all the other ones that they were put on in the first place when largely a lot of that stuff could have been addressed with

diet and lifestyle changes in the first place and then people are mad at everybody getting better and then companies that are making money off of people getting better. I don't understand. Meanwhile, Big Pharma is just laughing all the way to the bank while every American is on medication. Yeah, I had to, like there's this quote that I tweeted about, and it said, 90% of adults over the age of 65 will have

at least one chronic illness, while 77% will have two or more For the vast I said for the vast majority of adults. You'll spend the last decade of your life suffering Like this is not a drill This is not a drill No like we are like this is a full-on attack on People and now we're upset that people are trying to better themselves and like I I don't give a shit like I'm the first One to talk about all the bullshit supplements that are in the wellness space

Like I've been like even before I started live healthily I've been talking my shit about so much BS in that middle ground There's middle ground everywhere like nothing is as black and white as people want to try to make it seem and I get it the most Polarizing content does the best I understand because like the more hate you get yeah It's a big part of the problem the more hate you get the more followers you get, yeah, that's a big part of the problem, the more hate you get, the more followers you get, and then you get this cult following, everybody's like, rararararara, and then they have it. Somebody new to attack every single week,

and I get a dopamine high off of it, I'm like, get a hobby, touch some grass, do something else, literally anything, I will give you a hobby. If you DM me, I will give you something to do, please, like anything, but that's the issue that we're having with people is that they just want to have the most polarizing view. And then there's all this nuance in the middle. Yes, I'm sure out of all that big wellness, if I were to go through the list of what they were considering wellness, I'd throw 90 percent of it out with the friggin in the garbage.

I throw 90% of it out with the freaking in the garbage Yeah, but at least at least people are trying to help others heal At least like that is like the bare minimum in this country and guess what if these big corporations aren't going to do it The people we the people need to step up and I'm glad that a lot of us are like it makes me Really proud like I know like I'm obviously I'm a business owner and like that's my whole mission and that's what I'm trying to do. And like you're literally doing the same thing with, with your podcast and like literally going like knocking on doors, advocating for change. We've never seen a movement like this in American history when it comes to our food system. The fact that it's even being brought up like,

yes, Michelle Obama tried to do it. And the fact that nobody listened just proves that we weren't even ready for it. I'm sure if she did that today, we'd all be, I'd rally behind, go on Michelle, call me. Like I'll rally behind, you know? But it's like people were not ready. People still aren't ready.

I'm even shocked that we're like, me, I was like, oh my God, we're talking about health? We're doing the media the mainstream media is talking about health like literally like call my mother yeah I'm like what is going on like this that we've we've never like when is this ever happened you know and everyone's like Michelle did it myself thought you guys didn't want it it's like no the world was not ready for it not only that I actually did a podcast episode on this and I don't think a lot of people

realize what actually happened with Michelle Obama. By the way, I know everyone loves her. This is not a personal attack on Michelle Obama. But what actually ended up happening is her original message, I don't know if you remember this was we need to get the additives out of the food. We need to have kids eating less sugar. And then she kind of like disappeared for like a hot second with the movement and then came back out with,

let's move, sponsored by Mars, candy. And she was sponsored by all these big food corporations. And essentially what happened was she started talking about all these additives and all the crap and all the ultra processed foods that we were eating and was saying, this is a problem, we need to get our kids off these foods. And Mars is like, how about you focus on them just exercising?

Exactly. And all these big food companies were like, hey, we're going to come sponsor you. This is great. And then she has freaking candy bars and other I can't remember. I talk about this on my podcast and I went through like all of the major sponsors. You can also just Google it and look it up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then the whole the whole movement changed then to, okay, let's focus on exercise because everyone's not exercising enough and it's like dude Okay. Yeah, I mean true. But yeah I also like the other thing that pisses me off is like we can do multiple things that was like Why do we have to pick one and you and walk more like and encourage kids to get back in PE?

Because apparently a lot of schools have like canceled PE. I don't know if that's true But I don't know but like I I use every excuse in the book during PE. So they're definitely not strict enough. I'm like oh my tummy hurts I have a hangnail. I have a hangnail. I convinced myself that I had exercise induced asthma. I was like I had exercise induced asthma I can't run. They're like sure. Yeah they're like yeah whatever. It was like and then when you realize as an adult that like all our nurses were just like our age, like, yeah, I'm not like whatever. Yeah, go back. Well, here's your freaking note. My stupid signature. Yeah, it makes no sense. No, it's just everything. Yeah, people don't

realize the the like how corrupt these industries are. They have so much money. I mean, even like Mr. Kellogg, whatever the hell his name is, he's been trying to like literally slither on by everything that happened at the Kellogg's HQ when we went. And yeah, that was like just crazy. And like, I mean, we're all in the group chats. Like we know they have been, he's been trying so hard to like act like this isn't a big deal.

And like, he just got absolutely obliterated now that like RFK Jr. is in office and he's going to be like really hunkering down. So like now he has no choice but to like bend the knee, you know? But like we know how hard these companies have been trying their best to continue to lobby against like everything that we've been doing. And now like he's put in a corner, like now he kind of has no choice. But like if RFK like wasn't in office and all this, he'd breeze right on by.

It would be no problem. Oh, he would continue doing this. And what's so nefarious about this is that his company is creating these products for other countries, but then creating a different one for here in America. So they're already making it. And that's what's so insane to me.

And his justification was like, well, like 90% of our products don't have artificial dyes. Okay, it's like, well, tell me what the 10 where the pretend percent is, and where are you getting the most money from? Yeah, it's probably that 10%. Yeah, because that's where they're making the bulk of their money. No, it's so it's so nefarious. And there was a we were just watching a video right before we started recording about this particular doctor, where she was saying, okay, why do Americans keep holding this high standard for EU regulations? Like why do they hold it to such a high regard? And it's like, well, because they don't allow all the additives that we allow in this country and they have actually done the studies. In

fact, I would love for her to see the video of the FDA sitting in front of Bernie Sanders like two months ago, where they point blank literally admitted to Bernie Sanders, we are behind the research. We haven't even done the research. They haven't even done the research. And then we're looking over at the EU and they have a cautionary approach. And this is why everyone's holding them at such a high regard, is because in the EU, they go, you know, let's do some studies on this,

let's wait maybe five or 10 years and not put this in our food system right away because we want to be sure that this is actually healthy and okay for us. And then in the United States, we're like, come one, come all, let's just throw it in, and then if it's bad, we figure out it's bad later, we'll just pull it out, it's fine.

And then it takes 30 years to pull it out. Yeah. It's nuts. My grandkids will do it. Exactly. They're like, it's fine. Yeah, that'll be, I'll put it on my will. Maybe someone else will do it.

I'll put it on my will. But no, but it's actually funny because when I try to find especially studies on like artificial swineers, because like, you know, we don't want sucralose and ACE-K, a lot of the study is talking about them being good or from the US and a lot of them talking about them being not being greater from the UK. Like almost every single time. Like I found like a couple studies from Spain that were talking about like how horrible sucralose is. But then you can find like a study in the United States saying like it's so good for you because it's like that's like the number one sugar-free like alternative that people use outside of like stevia which is considered a natural sweetener, but like yeah people like We see it. They just have they're just doing way less biased research

That's really what it is, you know And also people don't understand like about research is that there has to be money put behind it You know me like I'm sure you get it too. Like there's people who work. I get a couple of researchers They're like, oh we've been trying to get funding to like do do this research on, I remember one specifically was the gut brain connection and like how a lot of these additives affect that connection. And they're like, we've just been trying to get funding for like, just to like do this one like small study. And then even when they do the study, it's like, oh, it wasn't like a meta analysis of like, there's always just like, oh, it was only this, or like it was all, but then what's funny is, is like every artificial sweetener, like study that is out there is like based on like two weeks.

I know. But that's fine. Now we have to, that's more than enough that we need, only two weeks. We want people are consuming this for like their whole life and in like liters a week. Well, and also too, a lot of those studies are getting pushed through by the food companies themselves that wanna be able to use those sweeteners. And this sounds conspiratorial, but y'all this is literally what happens with gross.

This is why RFK Jr. wants to go after it's generally recognized as safe, which is our way of determining whether or not a food company can put something into the food system through the FDA. And you know how a company gets or not a food company can put something into the food system through the FDA. And you know how a company gets to put a food additive into their food and bring it into the food system? They present their research to the FDA. They go, here, we found that it's safe. It did it.

And then we have all these like, bro science, like guys on Instagram being like, well, the science says. I'm like, oh, you mean the science that the American Beverage Association paid for? Yeah, that one. You know, it's funny that we haven't mentioned is like all these like All these like like Western is usually Western ideas and I love don't get me right I love our days. I have so many that follow me that are like more holistic minded and they're like they can't say anything because they'll get They get just a nightly Yeah, they get obliterated like they're not even allowed to talk that they're more holistic like they're just not allowed to do it They can't even mention that they don't like canola or any of these things, but they exist and I love you. We see you

Yeah, we see us earn a non Western RD's But it's funny because you always have like the Western RD is that we'll talk about how oh I can't like I can't wait for my check to come in like like trying to act like they're not getting paid But it's so funny and I always remember this because I'm like you guys are so embarrassing for this But when they did that huge roundup the FTC came for all those Western RDs that were promoting like it was pretty much They were promoting aspartame and like other artificial sweeteners and they weren't disclosing that they were being paid by the corporations to be like, we love aspartame, we, you know, chug it all the time. And then they got pretty

much nailed. Like it was like all these big. Oh, they got letters sent. Yeah, they got a letter sent to them. It was like this whole thing that to take everything down, whatever. One of us like a cancer dietician, like it was just crazy. And I remember reading the article that was made about them. And one of these big corporations made a statement saying that they really appreciate these RDs creating this narrative of everything in moderation because it really helps their advertising. So what's embarrassing is you guys are doing the work for free. Exactly. You guys are literally doing it for free.

They actually don't have to pay you because you're creating the narratives for them and then they're pushing the ads. They are literally able to hunker down on that narrative and be like, oh, yeah, the RDs were just talking about everything is a chemical and everything in moderation. Write that down, Jim. We're using that in our next ad. Those are the experts, so we're everything in moderation. Write that down, Jim.

We're using that in our next ad. Those are the experts, so we're going to go with that. Yeah, yeah. Well, and I think a lot of people aren't making this connection too. So that's absolutely happening. But also a lot of these RDs are getting these talking points from their education that is largely being swayed by these corporations. It's a big loop.

Exactly. They just keep on like supporting everything that's in there. They're not asking for any type of change or anything like that I mean also I think you know one specific person that talks about this a lot that people aren't following the the dietary layout enough right we're not following it enough so let's ask why people aren't following it. Maybe it's not it doesn't work. Yeah, maybe let's think about that Maybe it's people we need to rework it in a way that is actually Attainable for the average American like to be honest

I couldn't even tell you like what is on the evil all if you if all the eat plate thing was my plate Whatever the heck it's called and you find a different name that I can remember. If that was just like eat real food, have like a cup of berries a day, cool. I can maintain that. But it's like you need this much fiber and there's much grain and there's like, and I don't even think like meat is like an important role in any of it. You know, most people that try to go by that end up getting really sick. I mean, Halle Means talks about this with his mom, and his mom unfortunately, died a couple years ago from an aggressive form of I forgot what kind of

cancer she had. It was maybe colon cancer. I can't remember exactly. Don't quote me on that or come from me. I don't remember exactly. But he talked about how his mom thought that she was relatively healthy because she was following what the guidelines were saying. And then she just kept getting on more and more medications. It was like, this is what happens in the American system, is that she thinks that she's pretty healthy. And then all of a sudden, she gets diagnosed with diabetes. And so then they put her on metformin. And then a couple years go down the line. And then they say, Oh, you have heart disease. And then I put her on a statin. You have a high cholesterol statin, you know, and then they just keep putting you on all these drugs. Well, those are all

warning signs that something is going on. And continuing to go wrong. Exactly. And no one's having a sit down intervention with people going, huh, okay, so your blood sugar is really high. Your cholesterol is getting like, concerningly high. No one's actually having a conversation with diet. And if they are, they're like, oh, we'll just eat more grains.

And you know, here's the food pyramid. And they'll send you with a little like, like 1980s, like print out. Yeah, they have in their office. Yeah. Where are you getting all this paper? Because my dad went to the doctor for my grains and they printed out like a dietary thing. And first off, like it's like a mass thing that they print. Like he just like went into a drawer and he just has like 500 papers in there and it all says the same exact thing. But I remember he sent it to me and he's like this, because I was like, show me what your doctor is recommending for your migraines.

Because for me, studying functional therapies and things, I'm like, you should probably be doing a mineral analysis, seeing what your mineral stores are. Let's see what's going on. And instead they send him home with a paper that said he can eat Velveeta mac and cheese. Oh my God. And instead they send him home with a paper that said he can eat Velveeta mac and cheese. Oh my God. Angelo. That is so... I know this is happening, but it's still a shocking to me.

It's similarly to like when you have a loved one that ends up in the hospital. My dad had heart surgery like five years ago. And actually it takes a lot to shock my dad because I've been talking to my dad about this stuff for like 20 years. Yeah, aren't we all? Yeah. But my dad gets... We need a support group. No, he literally...

Our parents don't listen to us. Literally, though. I have been trying so hard with my dad. And so it takes a lot to shock him. And my dad got a heart surgery done at a really prominent, in his words, like the best of the best, like heart surgery center or whatever, right? After he came out of surgery, do you know what they gave him? They literally brought him a tray of fried chicken and macaroni and cheese.

And even my dad, he's sending me photos and I was like, is this? Like where's the vegetables? No, literally though. It was insane. I'll literally have to send you, I have the paper because I remember him sending it to me, I'm going to have to send it to you because the list is so shocking. I'm like, it's crazy the brand. Like it's specifically that brand.

And it just shows that there has to be some sort of incentive for them. And it's like, I will actually, to be honest, show me the study that Velveet and mac and cheese is good for migraines. Show me actually, I need proof. Because where are you getting that list from? I've never even heard that mac and cheese is like a superfood. Like it's great for my grains. Like what are we and jello? Jello? I know. It's like the most least nutritious food in the world. It's literally like eating air. Like what is like it's not even made with

like real jealous grass fed jealous. You know what I'm saying? It's crazy. Yeah blew my mind. Oh my god it's so scary. I need to burn those pamphlets. Like just Elmo mean. Wait take photos first and then post them online because I really want to see those. But yeah I put my spy gear on. Thank you so much for listening to the Real Foodology podcast. This is a Wellness Loud production produced by Drake Peterson and mixed by Mike Frye. Theme song is by Georgie. You can watch the full video version of this podcast inside the Spotify app or on YouTube. As always, you can leave us a voicemail by clicking the link in our bio and if you like

this episode, please rate and review on your podcast app. For more shows by my team, go to WellnessLoud.com. See you next time. 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. If you struggle with bloating, gas, constipation, digestive issues, yeast overgrowth, well, you may already know about Digest This. It's the podcast hosted by me, Bethany Cameron, also known as LittleSipper on Instagram. I dive into gut health, nutrition, the food industry, and drawing from my own experience. I break down what's good, what's bad, and what's the best for your gut, your skin, and so much more.

I even offer gut-friendly recipes. New episodes every Monday and Wednesday produced by Wellness Loud.