#179: Realfoodology featuring Courtney Swan
Courtney, welcome to Austin.
Speaker 2:Hi, guys. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 3:Yeah. We're so pumped to have you in studio too.
Speaker 2:I know. This is fun.
Speaker 3:And we're trading because we went on your show. Now we're having you in person. So much better than doing it over Zoom.
Speaker 2:I totally agree.
Speaker 3:Even though our combo was great. We were kinda dividing and conquering this weekend because we were speaking at KetoCon, which was an incredible event. Ton of people there trying to just learn about their health, get into animal protein, saturated fat, all the good stuff. And then you were at the Force of Nature, the What Good Shall I Do conference. How was that for you?
Speaker 2:Oh, it was amazing. I went last year too. And, for people that are not aware of what Force of Nature is, they're they're a regenerative organic meat company, and they also have a ranch outside of Austin in Fredericksburg called Rome Ranch. And the story is so cool because the one of the founders of Force of Nature was, an original founder of Epic, and then he sold that company and he bought this ranch. And he describes this ranch as being, you know, it was, conventionally farmed and so it was really dead and it didn't have a lot of bio biodiversity.
Speaker 2:He bought this land and then completely regenerated it. And now you go out there and it is beautiful. He has bison roaming. It's just like it feels like just serenity being out there in nature, you know. And they and now they sell these amazing regeneratively farmed organic meats, and they put organ blend they put organ meats in their blends, which I love that about them.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It was just incredible. And every time I leave that conference, I just feel so inspired and have a fire up my ass just about, like, wanting to do change in the food industry.
Speaker 1:They're such thought leaders in terms of how we think about quality food. We were there last year too, by the way. I don't know. We didn't cross paths.
Speaker 2:But
Speaker 3:Did you go last year as well? Yeah. Wow. So we completely missed each other.
Speaker 2:That is crazy. I met so many people this year that were there last year that I didn't even meet.
Speaker 1:That's so funny. Because it was a small it's, like, a relatively small conference. Like, I feel like by the end, they're like, okay. I couldn't I know all these people. But Yeah.
Speaker 3:How was it this year compared to last year? Was it similar? Did they do anything differently?
Speaker 2:No. It was pretty much it it was very similar. It was the same kind of setup. The only difference was there was a lot more time in between, which I really appreciated, Because there were so many people there that I really wanted to meet and connect with, for, you know, various reasons just to say I love your work or I'd love to have you on my podcast. And it was just cool to meet.
Speaker 2:That was the most inspiring thing about that conference last year and this year for me is meeting so many people from so many different walks of life that all come together with the same passion and desire to change our food industry. And it really gives me a lot of hope to know that there's so many people on this issue right now. And I feel like because of that, that we're actually gonna be able to make change.
Speaker 1:Yeah. One of the things I loved about last year was there's so many different types of people who showed up. Like, you would have ranchers, ecologists, you know, us two who are just interested in getting involved and we're just starting our media platform. So it's like, hey. How can we contribute and just see what people are talking about?
Speaker 1:So it was just cool seeing the variety of people that show up that are interested in making a change.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It was awesome. It's super inspiring.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And we were saying too, prior to hitting record, your brand, Real Foodology, is your perspective on nutrition, I think that we're so aligned. And we had someone come up to us at KetoCon that was saying, hey. Have you ever heard of this brand, Real Foodology, Courtney Swan? This was yesterday.
Speaker 3:He was saying, he was like, I just love how she doesn't take this extremist approach, and she does these videos showing you about all the regular grocery stores that people go to. And she just teaches you how to shop the grocery store effectively. And I think that that's really needed in the space right now, just more, like, genuine perspective on food and nutrition. And you have an incredible story about how you got into this whole thing. We it's it's a music background, so I think we'd love to just learn a little bit about you, your story on health, and how you got here today.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Awesome. Also, I I told you this yesterday, but I was so flattered by that comment. And, you know, we talked about this a little bit. I the way I view all of this is that we we really need to meet people where they're at.
Speaker 2:And where I what I don't love that's happening in nutrition right now is that people are going into these very extreme corners and saying you have to be this one diet or, you know, you know, we know the the people of the world that are like, these vegetables are gonna kill you. And I'm not out here to, like, vilify them, but I'm just saying, like, I feel like we really need to zoom out because so much of our population is so unhealthy. And they're also so confused on what to actually eat. And we're just throwing all this stuff at people. And so my message is very I try to simplify it simplify it as much as possible and try to make it as accessible for just the average human and just say, look, we just need to be eating real food.
Speaker 2:We're eating so much packaged crap. Everything is, you know, engineered to be more highly palatable, more addictive. Let's just cut all that out and not be so concerned about, like, oh my god. Well, this kale is gonna kill you or what you know what I mean? It's like, let's just, like, start with the basics.
Speaker 2:So, that's really what I built my entire platform on. And it's actually, funny enough how I came up with the name Real Foodology. I was actually I was so we're recording in Austin right now for those of you guys listening. I created Real Foodology here in Austin in 02/2011 Interesting. Where I came up with the name.
Speaker 2:I had, just quit touring. So to give background on that, I I went to CU Boulder, and two of my best friends in college, had started this band called three zero three. And when we graduated, they got, like, national recognition. They had a couple songs with Katy Perry and Kesha. And I was super in music at the time.
Speaker 2:Like, in in fact, I really was I was a little bit into nutrition, but I was, like, I'm just dead set on working in music. So, when they graduated or when we all graduated, they were like, do you wanna come on tour with us? And I was, like, yeah. Let's go. Let's do this.
Speaker 1:What a dream.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It was incredible. It was incredible. And then I I was their tour manager. I was them I was with them for, like, two and a half years, and then I went to another band that I was with for two and a half years.
Speaker 2:And then, all during this time period, by the way, I I had taken a a nutrition class as my last class my senior year in college. And I remember calling my dad being like, I finally figured out what I wanna do, which is so funny. It was literally like my last class. And he was like, Courtney, you need to just finish school. Like, stop.
Speaker 2:But it sparked my interest in nutrition. And so then I just started doing all this deep diving on my own. And on tour, I was reading all these books and I was stalking our bus with all this, like, healthy organic food. And I I just became so passionate about it throughout the years as I was learning more stuff. And I was finding people like Mark Hyman and Michael Pollan and Doctor.
Speaker 2:Axe. And eventually, I got so passionate about it that I was like, this is what I really need to be doing. So I quit. I left this band in 02/2011. I moved to Austin, actually, because I'm I was born in San Antonio.
Speaker 2:And I was like, kinda, you know, go back to my roots. And I started my master's program in nutrition. And when I started that program, I was about, like, two years in. I had met because music is such a small world, actually, like, everyone knows everyone.
Speaker 1:And I
Speaker 2:had a friend that was tour managing this band, Third Eye Blind. Maybe you heard of
Speaker 1:it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I I just went out to a festival to say hi to him. And the singer, Steven, comes up to me and he's like, how do you know Kyle? I was like, oh, I used to be a tour manager and, you know, we've we've toured together in the past. And Steven goes, I need your number. We need a tour manager.
Speaker 2:And I remember thinking at the time, I was like, he's just asking like, it was just like a clever way of him, like, hitting on me asking for my number. Well, he called me the next day, and he goes, send me your resume. And I was like, okay. Send him my resume. And he basically, like, the next day is like, we want you to be our tour manager.
Speaker 2:And at the time, I was like I was so torn because I had been so on this path of nutrition, and I was like, I just want to be I thought at the time I just wanna be a nutritionist, have clients. And but I remember at the time telling my boyfriend, I was like, I I, like, can't I can't say no. Like, when third blind calls, you can't say no.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That's a hell yes type of opportunity. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I was so torn, but I was like, okay, I'm gonna do it. And it it's so this is one of those moments where it's so interesting to look back on your path. And at the time, it may feel like you're you're diverting or you don't really know what you're doing and, like, everything doesn't feel clear. But you can look back and be like, wow, this was just all part of my journey. Right?
Speaker 2:On, like, the steps to getting to where I eventually needed to be, and all of it. Like, life is just a journey like that. But so I ended up with Third Eye Blind for a year. Steven ended up being super into health. He was good friends with Dave Asprey.
Speaker 2:He got me on the Bulletproof Diet. And, like, I was stocking their bus with all these healthy organic foods and, like so then what happened was, I essentially was like helping them with nutrition. And, I also had a friend at the time that was tour managing this, pop star called ToFlow. And he calls me one day and he's like, hey, Court. He's like, I just started working with this, pop star, Tovelo.
Speaker 2:And I was wondering if you would wanna come on and do nutrition for her, like, make smoothies for her, help her band eat healthy. We wanted someone who has a background in touring. And we also want someone who knows a lot about nutrition. And I was like, yeah. Let's go.
Speaker 3:So she was Swedish. Right? Yeah. Didn't you end up traveling to, like, 36 or 40 countries over five years?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Four years. I was with her for four years. And I went to probably with her so I've been to 36 countries total. And probably with her, it was about 30 countries or maybe like 32 countries that I went with her.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 3:What is the actual wear and tear like being on road for that long?
Speaker 2:I mean, it's why I stopped, honestly. It's a lot. You're working really, abnormal hours, super long late hours. It really throws your body off for years, you guys, after coming off of tour. I could not get on a stable sleeping pattern.
Speaker 2:Wow. Because, like, your body is just so I basically had trained my body to just sleep whenever I could because there would be one day where we'd have a show. We'd play a festival at, like, 2PM. There'd be another day where we'd play at, like, 1AM, you know. We'd be working till, like, 4AM and then having to get up for a 7AM flight.
Speaker 2:And so it was like days off. There would there would be days where I would literally just text Tov and be like, I'm not leaving this hotel room bed. And I would just sleep all day. So it's a lot. It's really hard on your body.
Speaker 2:But alternatively, that was literally my job was to make sure that she was my main focus, but it was also the entire band. We had a crew of 11 people, it was 12 with me. And part of my job was to, write our writer. And so the writer is what you send out to a venue or a festival or whatever it is before you play, and they'll stock your green room with that. And then I also stocked our bus, so I would send them another list and be like, this is everything we need for the bus.
Speaker 2:So everything that came through was like organic, didn't have seed oils, super healthy. And the band after the first tour was like, oh my god. This is incredible. They're like, we have energy. We lost weight.
Speaker 2:We feel great. Even though they were still like, you know, they were still like partying and like staying up late and all this stuff. Like, we they would always laugh because we would we we'd have like a really late night out. And then I'd get up in the morning and I'd go to like a juice shop and I just bring everyone like ginger shots and green juices and like all this stuff. And so we'd all we'd get on the bus and I'd just be like handing out like supplements and like yeah.
Speaker 2:It was so there's a lot of things you can do. It's kind of that like biohacking, you know, where you're like, okay, I've been doing a lot to my body, but here's all the supplements and, you know, all the amazing food that I can give you at least to, like, counteract some of the effects of it.
Speaker 1:Before we get into the episode, let's talk about Fawn Bone Broth's carnivore blend.
Speaker 3:A %. Yeah. We've been huge fans of bone broth the last few months. It's really fueled our carnivore journey. Bone broth is incredibly nourishing, especially on a carnivore, animal based, or just any type of diet, to be honest with you.
Speaker 3:And what's great about Fawn is that they're a very simple pure product. So their product is just boiled bones, water, salt. And most of their products have spices like turmeric, cayenne, cracked pepper. But they actually just came out with their carnivore broth, which is very simple, chicken bone broth, water, and salt too. So they're eliminating all their spices and just giving you something very pure that won't disrupt the gut.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I think one of the things we talk about with the elimination diet is the fact that there's so many things that do actually affect how your body reacts to the food you put in your body. And the fact that they're just doing a pure bone broth with bones and just the minimal ingredients, I think, is huge, and the carnivore audience will love this one. Fonda's regenerative bone, so it's really high quality stuff. Go check it out.
Speaker 1:Use our promo code in the link below.
Speaker 3:Yep. Code mafia will get you 15% off your first order.
Speaker 1:Is there any semblance of balance on a tour like that, or do are you just all go go go?
Speaker 2:Not really. You have to just you have to create it in those small moments when you can find them, you know. Because it's really, like I said, like, every day the shows I mean, depending on if you're just flying around like what we did a lot for festivals, your your stage time would be different every day depending on what festival you were playing. But if we were on a proper tour and she was, like, headlining, we knew every night she was going on stage at, like, 9PM. So sometimes it it kinda depended on what yeah.
Speaker 2:Like, where where we were at as far as, like, the touring schedule goes. But yeah. I mean, it's you're really, no. It's it's hard to find balance and all that.
Speaker 1:I imagine a lot of people don't take what you took seriously, which was, you know, health, taking care of yourself. And that actually affects their performance, I'm sure. Right? Like, did you see anyone, like, from an outsider's perspective who toured really well like yourself? Like, you you know, you would help the band take care of their nutrition, probably telling them to sleep more, all this stuff.
Speaker 1:Did you see anyone else, like, doing it right and, like, seeing that performance actually pay off or that, routine pay off in their performance?
Speaker 2:Like, other bands that we toured with? Or
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So we did a tour with Coldplay. And, the singer oh my god. I'm blanking on his name. Chris Martin.
Speaker 1:Chris. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. We would always see or no. Actually, you know what? It wasn't Chris Martin.
Speaker 2:Sorry. We also went on tour with Maroon five, and I'm getting them mixed up. We would sing we would see the singer of Maroon five, running every day with his trainer. So a lot of these, like, really big bands will bring trainers, chiropractors, nutritionists, and we'd always see him, like, working out for the shows. The Coldplay tour was really awesome because we were not only because we were touring Europe, but they had this amazing catering every day.
Speaker 2:Because that's a lot of it too is, if you don't have someone who's actually paying attention to the catering and, like, really, like, curating in a good way, a lot of times, like, the these small venues are just notorious for giving you just crap food. So I would do something which is called, a buyout. I always tell I would always tell the venues, like, we're doing a buyout. We're not doing catering. Because basically, like, it was like, I don't trust you to feed us
Speaker 1:good food.
Speaker 2:Right. And then I would find healthy organic foods to or, like, or restaurants to then order from. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I know you were saying that a big part was, like, bringing in juices and wellness shots and things like that. And one of the things I was gonna ask you is, from your perspective, like, how did you think about managing the meals themselves on the road? And, like, was the seed oil movement kind of a thing back then? Were you attuned to that at all?
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean, the an the the answer to that is, like, yes and no. I've known for a very long time that canola oil was really bad for us, but I did not know the extent of all the different oils. One, that were being used and also didn't even really think about the fact that there was all these other oils that we had to worry about.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And when I was eating and we were eating out so often like that, I wasn't even thinking about the oils at all because all the places I was finding for the most part were organic and healthy spots. Like, I'd find a lot of these, like, healthy juice bars that would be making, like, sandwiches and salads and whatever and stuff like that. And so, no, I didn't really think about it at the time. Now I'd be, like, way more honest, especially with that Seed Oil Scout app. You know?
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah. It's It's incredible the work that they're doing. Yeah. For for you, what is your personal progression with nutrition been like? Just kind of, like, how do you think about structuring your meals, cooking your meals, eating out?
Speaker 3:Like, what are the foods that you really like to incorporate that make you feel your best as a woman?
Speaker 2:Yeah. I love this question. So, I think, especially for women, we've really been taught to fear fat because we have equated eating fat as gaining weight, thanks to that Harvard study. You guys only mention that? Yeah.
Speaker 2:There was a Harvard study done in the seventies. And what they found is that sugar is what actually leads to, heart attacks and inflammation and cardiovascular disease, essentially. And the sugar industry got wind of this, and they paid these Harvard scientists off, like, the equivalent I mean, it was not even that much money. I think it was, like, $50,000 or something to change their findings to, it being fat, actually, instead of sugar that causes heart disease. Well, then what happened?
Speaker 2:It spurred the entire low fat movement. Everyone goes low fat. Well, what happens when you take the fat out of food? You have to replace that because fat, creates that really good mouth feel and taste, you know, with your food. And so when you take out the fat, you have to add all the sugar back in.
Speaker 2:So then we're just eating, like, loads of sugar. And then as a result, like, still to this day, people are so scared of eating fat. And for women I mean, it's good for men and women across the board. But for women, it's really good for hormonal imbalance, for satiety. Eating fat actually helps you to maintain a healthy weight.
Speaker 2:It helps with fertility. There's so many amazing things about fat. And so, for me, the way that I build a plate thinking about that is I make sure I'm always eating a good healthy fat. That's like one of my number one priorities. And then a good healthy protein.
Speaker 2:And by protein, I mean animal based proteins. I do not believe in eating the plant based proteins, and we can also go into that. And then obviously, like a good balance of a carbohydrate. I never eat my carbohydrates naked, and I think this is really important, for balancing blood sugar. And you think about the rise of PCOS that's happening right now, the rise of infertility that's happening for women.
Speaker 2:And a lot of that is coming back to a blood sugar imbalance. PCOS is a blood sugar imbalance. And so you wanna make sure when you're eating your carbohydrates that you're dressing them with good high quality fats in order to keep your blood sugar more balanced. You're not gonna have that extreme spike and then dip, and then you're gonna be craving more sugar and, yeah, wear out your body.
Speaker 1:What sort of carbs do you think are fair game were coming from KetoCon, so it was basically like no carbs at all. But do you think that there is a place for carbs in in a diet? And and what would you recommend?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Well, and and this is, you know, coming from a woman's perspective, and I've read a lot about this. A lot of the the people that are huge proponents for ketogenic diets are men. And that's totally great. I actually I think ketogenic diets are great for men.
Speaker 2:I do have a a I I have a sense that being keto forever is probably not good for you. I think the best way to approach it is to kinda come in and out of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But I think it in general, men's bodies respond better to it. For women, we definitely need a little bit more carbohydrates. And I've seen a lot of women talk about this. I've seen a lot of women go ketogenic and then come out and be like, this was actually really bad for my body. I can speak to it for myself, anecdotally that when I went ketogenic, I was actually so lethargic.
Speaker 2:Like, people talk about you get all this energy from being keto and, you know, your body is fueled by fats. I realized for me that I needed to have at least a little bit of carbohydrates. I can't go super heavy with them. And a lot of this too depends on your own biology. And I wanna encourage everyone listening to, you're really gonna have to figure out what works best for you.
Speaker 2:Like, I have done so many different iterations of different diets. Because I've done paleo. I've done low carb. I've done keto. I've done whole like, I have done everything.
Speaker 2:And I got to this place where I just started making mental notes. Like, okay, I felt like crap when I keto. I was super lethargic. I couldn't I had no energy to do my workouts. I was hungry a lot of the time.
Speaker 2:But then what I found too is when I went vegetarian, I was basically carb loading because you're you're carb loading when you're a vegetarian.
Speaker 3:You are.
Speaker 2:And I got extremely sick on the opposite spectrum. So, like, for me, what works for me is on the lower end of carbohydrates, but I need some or my body doesn't function correctly. And I think that's the way for a lot of women.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. Are
Speaker 1:are all carbs created equals though? Are you choosing like rice, sweet potatoes versus I mean, there's a bunch of, like, garbage carbs out there as well.
Speaker 2:Yes. That is a great point. Because there's that whole, like, if it fits in my macros movement and people are just like, get your carbs wherever from, like, cereal. Or there's this new trend that I was just told about, the eating rice crispy treats before you work out. Have you guys heard this?
Speaker 1:I said.
Speaker 2:Oh my god. I posted a video.
Speaker 1:This one before it gets popular.
Speaker 2:It's so bad. There I don't know the full ins and outs of it. All I know is the comments I've gotten. But I posted a video recently about how bad rice crispy treats are for you. Like, the the actual branded, like, what's that brand?
Speaker 2:It makes it Kellogg's or whatever. It's Kellogg's. Yeah. The little, like, packaged ones is what I'm talking about specifically. I talked about all the different ingredients in there that were terrible for you, and all these people were like, no.
Speaker 2:That's like my pre workout snack. Or someone was like, oh, I saw TikTok. I'm like, this is what you do before pre workout. And I was like, what? I
Speaker 1:don't know.
Speaker 2:No. So yes. Not all carbohydrates are created equally. You definitely wanna get, you do not wanna be eating refined carbohydrates or like highly processed carbohydrates. You wanna look for, sprouted.
Speaker 2:So if you're buying bread if you do eat gluten I'm gluten free. But if you eat gluten, you want sprouted grains, like sprouted, breads. I know grains in the whole, like, keto carnivore world is like a blasphemy. But I'm okay with a little bit of it. As long as they are organic, because you wanna make sure they're not being sprayed with glyphosate.
Speaker 2:The sprouting actually removes the phytic acid, which is what everyone in, like, the carnivore, keto world are really concerned about. I think white rice is a really great option too. That's usually what I opt for. And white rice is actually better for you than brown rice Mhmm. Because it's lower in arsenic, it's easier to digest, and it's just, it's a better carbohydrate.
Speaker 3:Yeah. It was interesting at KetoCon because we were there promoting our company that's about to launch Noble Origin. So it's an animal based protein powder. And there were so many women that were coming up to the booth and where they were like, oh my gosh. I love this because I really struggle to get protein in my diet.
Speaker 3:And I thought that was interesting because from my perspective, I'm like, if you're able to cook two meals a day and you're getting, like, a good whack of animal protein the size of your palm, you should be good to go. So I'm just I was just so curious as, like, are they not cooking their meals? Are they not eating enough? I'm like, it really shouldn't be that difficult to get enough protein and fat in your diet. I'm sure that's something you think a lot about.
Speaker 2:Yeah. You know, actually, it's interesting because I had a a similar experience recently where I got a a bunch of blood work done, and my doctor was like, your protein is really low. And I was like, really? Like, how is that possible? Because I I usually have animal protein with at least two meals a day.
Speaker 2:I don't I I don't to be honest, like, I have now been doing I'm really excited about your protein powder because I have been doing protein shakes now. Because I thought just by eating, you know, steak and chicken and whatever else that I'm eating every day that I was getting enough. I think too just maybe, like, women, at least for me, like, depending on where I'm at in my cycle, like, my appetite is lower. Mhmm. And so I think I'm just eating less in general.
Speaker 2:Because it is it's such a balance of, like, trying to figure out, like, how much protein and how much fat to get, and then you're really full and you're like, but I didn't have enough protein. But, like, you know, you don't wanna, like, completely stuff yourself. So it's Yeah. Yeah. It's a balancing act for sure.
Speaker 3:What proteins do you really like to incorporate that sit well with your body? And do you have any recommendations for people that are just trying to source better quality protein? I know you mentioned force of nature, but would love your thoughts on that too.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I I I'll give you a wide range because I want it to be accessible as possible. You wanna look for organic grass fed. I'm a huge proponent for eating ground beef or just beef in general, which is so funny because most of my life, I didn't eat it growing up. Because I grew up in Texas and I don't yeah.
Speaker 2:I just for some reason, I was fed so much of it as a kid that I was like, I don't like this. I think too, women more specifically I think a lot of women go vegetarian because we're so sensitive to, the thought of killing an animal. I was vegetarian for five years, actually, and I was the sickest I've ever been. And so I started eating meat again literally out of survival. But when you so what brought me back was I started learning about this process of organic and grass fed and farmers that were actually doing right by the animals, where there's this concept of they only have one bad day of their life.
Speaker 2:You know?
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And so that's why, for me, I'm so passionate about this because I had initially gone vegetarian because I started learning about all the factory farming that's happening. You know, the CAFOs, the concentrated animal feeding lots where they, I mean, they're they're sick animals. You know, they're being injected with growth hormones and given antibiotics, and they're being fed grains that don't even, work well with their stomachs, you know. And so we're creating unhealthy meat, and that's also terrible for the animals. So I'm very passionate about this subject and I encourage people to, you know, put your put your money where, your values lie.
Speaker 2:You know, and that means that you're gonna be spending a little bit more money on really high quality meat, but it's not only better for, the ethical treatment of these animals, it's also better better for our health. It's also gonna help change this whole movement, and we can hopefully get rid of these factory farmed animals because this is really what you know, we're I always tell vegans this. I'm like, you guys, we are all on the same page here. Like, we are all against this and we wanna get rid of this. So how can we all band together?
Speaker 2:And one of the ways of doing that is putting our money into the farmers and into the people that are actually taking care with our animals. You know? And, so this is why I really love Force of Nature. They do these organic regeneratively farmed animals. I'm trying to think of more accessible too.
Speaker 2:Like, you know, sometimes it's hard because I feel like there is a lot of greenwashing happening and you can't fully know what's really happening behind the scenes. But I have seen at places like Trader Joe's, at Walmart, at Target, I've seen 100% grass fed organic meat.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And I always try to encourage people to buy that because generally speaking, it's usually only a dollar to 2 difference in the price. Like I said, I mean, you never know. Like, hopefully, they're actually doing the practices right. But I'm just I'm trying to meet people where they're at, and I know people have differing budgets. If you can afford to buy your meat from places like Force of Nature, I highly recommend it because we really I've met the people behind it.
Speaker 2:You guys have too. Like, we know that they're really doing it right. I'm trying to think of other there's other companies. There's a a brand called ButcherBox that does grass fed meat that's like delivered to your door. Depending on where you live in the country, you can also check out farmers markets and go and I encourage people, if you can do this, if it's accessible for you, go to farmers markets and talk to the people growing your food.
Speaker 2:Definitely. Develop a relationship with them, you know? Like, no like, find out where their farm is. Find out how they're treating their animals and how they're treating their their land. If they're spraying pesticides on it, it's recreating that relationship with our food, you know, because we're so disconnected from it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. We worked pretty closely with a few farms here, like Holy Cow Beef in Lubbock, Texas, and then Perennial Pastures in San Diego. I don't know. Have you heard of them?
Speaker 2:No. I haven't.
Speaker 1:We gotta
Speaker 3:get you out there big time.
Speaker 2:Okay. That
Speaker 1:would be a great farm tour. We should all connect out there. But
Speaker 2:That'd be awesome.
Speaker 1:Perennial Pastures is in San Diego, and they're doing their full, regenerative supply chain, sourcing from a farm in West Texas, Montana, and then San Diego. But, you know, to your point, like, I feel like there's the dogmatic nature of nutrition has created these weird alignments where we all agree on what the problem is, but we can't agree on just, like, how to talk about it. So factory farming is a perfect example. It's like, if an animal is unhealthy and, like, we need to I think it's, like, 80% of antibiotics go to animals. So if we're if these animals are that sick, should we actually even be eating them?
Speaker 1:Exactly. The answer is is absolutely not. And so I think that just goes to show, like, all these issues are very interconnected. And if we can start having these conversations across the aisle, like, hey. The people who actually care about how this food is being raised, on the vegan side of the aisle are very similar to the people who care about how food is being raised on the carnivore side of the aisle.
Speaker 1:So I just think that, like, we do need to have this conversation, and open up these nutrition, lenses so people aren't as dogmatic. They feel comfortable talking about the issues and finding those common grounds because the issues are very much interconnected and feel there's more in common than we realize.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. That was so well put. Yeah.
Speaker 3:What is your perspective on, like, speaking to a fellow woman that's maybe, like, five years similar to you, plant based vegetarian? They're hearing more about beef and animal protein, but they really can't like, they can't make that jump to eating it because they're really worried about the moral piece of death. I'm sure you probably have a great perspective, like, actually being there, but that's something that I struggle with is, like, how do we actually convince vegetarians to eat more meat? Because, like, we basically you're you're outsourcing death by, you know what I mean? Like, just by, you're basically outsourcing death by saying, oh, I don't want an animal to die where it's like death is integral to the process regardless.
Speaker 3:Right? So I'm just curious, like, have you had any success converting, like, vegetarian women over to the animal based?
Speaker 2:Yes. But it was never, how do I put this? I I've never, like, been on a mission to, like, convert vegetarians or vegans per se. I just my whole approach is I really believe in sharing the truth with people, and I also believe in informed consent. And what's happening on a mainstream level right now is that we're being told that, plant based is healthy for everyone.
Speaker 2:Everyone can do it. Everyone should do it because we're being told that it's better for the environment, it's better for your health, etcetera. And I see that and I call bullshit. I'm like, this is lie. Like, we're literally being lied to.
Speaker 2:And so I just have this in, intense passion for, like, sharing the truth. It's really what it is. And so as a result of me sharing that, I've had many people come to me and say, oh my god, thank you so much. You know, I was vegetarian for a long time and you encouraged me to start eating meat. And, to speak to your question, you know, there there's a couple different things happening there.
Speaker 2:One, what what was happening for me for a long time, and I've heard a lot of vegetarians talk about this, is they say like, well, I don't I don't wanna take another animal's life in order for me to survive. So if that means that I don't live as long there's almost this like martyrdom happening. So one, it's like I see this disconnect of self love where I'm like, you you hate yourself so much that you don't wanna actually, like, take really take care of yourself and take note of of what's happening with your health. Because, I was so sick, but I was like, I can't do this because I can't take another animal's life. And, and I understand there's a lot of empathy there.
Speaker 2:And it's it's also a beautiful thing that we feel that way. Right? Because, I mean, thank God we do. Because otherwise, it's like, I mean, I would be concerned if someone wasn't feeling empathetic about it. You know?
Speaker 2:But we also have to understand that part of life is death. Like, unfortunately, I I think there there's not even a thing. There's this huge disconnect between life and death. And and what's actually happening is a lot of people are not, fully facing the reality of, like, living also means dying, you know. And it's all part of the cycle.
Speaker 2:And if we want to, live on this planet and be healthy, there are certain things we have to do, like eat meat, which is incredibly healthy for us. I also believe, I'm not like religious, but I am spiritual, and I believe that animals were put on the planet for our sustenance, you know?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because they were they're like nature's perfect food. If you eat nose to tail, like a a cow, for example, you will get every single essential nutrient that we need in our diet. And essential nutrients are ones that we have to get from our diet. Our bodies don't produce them naturally. And so, yeah, I think there really is this level of having to, there's a bit of, like, a spirituality there where you just have to understand that, like, part of life is death.
Speaker 2:You know? And, unfortunately oh, and there's one more thing I wanna say that I think a lot of vegans are not aware of. V like, farming vegetables kills so many animals.
Speaker 3:So many animals. Thousands.
Speaker 2:Thousands.
Speaker 1:I mean And plants. I mean Yeah. Like the I think people like to think that, like, the animal kingdom I mean, I think about death just in terms of the animal kingdom, but they spray so many pesticides. It's like it's or, herbicides. Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's insane.
Speaker 2:Well, it's killing the the microbiome of the soil. It's killing all the bugs off in in the soil. And also on top of that, farmers will say that, you know, they have to I mean, this weekend, a farmer was talking about how, like, they shoot down all these, what do they call them? The groundhogs? I think it was like little prairie dogs.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, they shoot them down like crazy. And you think about, like, the snakes, the all the critters that are living on the land that they have to kill essentially to, like, mow down and create this, like, sterile land in order to grow. And then there's also a huge problem happening with the bees right now. And without our bees, we don't have a food system basically at all. And we're killing off all the bees.
Speaker 2:And then there's a huge problem with the birds now not being able to find as much food because we are killing so many bugs and just like whole the entire ecosystem by farming in this mono crop culture, you know, the big ag industrialized farming system that we have going on right now.
Speaker 1:Are you hopeful that we can reverse some of these trends?
Speaker 2:I'm very hopeful. Especially after, coming out of a conference like this weekend. There there's a lot of big steps that are involved in in actually changing this. What I am hopeful about is that we know the solution, and there's a lot of people working on it, and there's a lot of people very passionate about it, and there's a lot of people doing it the right way. It's really a matter of, yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, there's a lot of shifts that need to happen in these large corporations. But that's where you, the listener right now, this is how we are a part of the change, and we can actually make a massive change by putting our dollars into the people that are doing it right.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And you're the perfect example of that too because when you were plant based and vegetarian, it's like you're an informed consumer. You're trying to do the right thing. You're being told that going vegetarian and plant based is healthy. And so you're trying it, and it's like, yeah, when you're going off the standard American diet and you're switching to real foods and cooking vegetables and things like that, you will feel better only up to a certain point.
Speaker 3:So we've had on a number of women that were formerly plant based vegan, raw vegan, and they were like, I tried it because I was trying to do the right thing, but it was just the wrong approach. And as soon as they started incorporating the right foods, which are the most bioavailable, which are animal products like you mentioned, their health just skyrocketed. Yeah. But it's like you have to it's like you almost have to how do you teach someone to be able to develop that intuitive sense of, like, what I'm doing is not ultimately working? But I think just having more conversations like this and just putting out more material, going to things like Rome Ranch, like, go out and visit your local farmer, look at the way that the cows are being raised, the chickens are being raised, and then you realize, oh, wow.
Speaker 3:These animals have incredible lives. And, unfortunately, it's like they do need to die, unfortunately, for you to be able to get the best
Speaker 2:possible nutrition. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I I feel like the access to information too is hugely important. Like you're saying, just like a lot of people live in metropolitan areas where they are really disconnected to the food system that is mostly in rural areas. So they need to have people who can have these types of conversations or at least present them the information for them. So it's like they're not just getting information from the echo chamber of, like, you know, urbanized food, which is I don't know. Generally, I I don't think it's, like, supporting rural America very much.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. We're very disconnected from our food system, and it's showing right now. I mean, we're we have a population of 7% that's healthy at the moment, you know, and and it's very multifaceted. But, a lot of it is because we are disconnected from our food and from that intuition that you were just talking about.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. And it's so interesting. As I as I started my journey of, of this, like, real food, when when I started my nutrition journey, essentially, when I first went vegetarian, looking back, I was very disconnected with myself because I can look back now and see the very clear signs that my body was trying to tell me that I was super unhealthy, but I wasn't listening. And I think a lot of it too is I was very disconnected from that intuitive knowing. And as I got healthier and as I dropped the processed foods and the highly palatable, you know, addictive food like products, as I call them.
Speaker 2:They're not even real foods, you know. You become more in tune with your body because that's that's the the coolest thing about all this is that our bodies really know what we need. Mhmm. And towards the end of my journey of being plant based, my I it was so funny. The whole, like, five years, basically, I was not craving meat until the last, like, couple months.
Speaker 2:And that was always my, like I'd, like, brag about it. I was like, I don't even miss meat. And then, like, the last couple months, I was like you guys, I was literally having dreams about meat. At one time, this dream was actually so
Speaker 1:Just cows are
Speaker 2:One of them, I I remember very specifically, I literally woke myself up in the middle of the night. I was air feeding myself chicken nuggets. Like, I had a dream that I was eating chicken nuggets. And I woke up and I was like, my mouth my fingers were at my mouth. And I was like I think that was the the last straw.
Speaker 2:I remember calling my mom and my mom was like, please eat meat. Your body is literally telling you and you're not listening.
Speaker 3:Yeah. We had on, Bella who goes by Steak and Butter Gal. So she's a carnivore. I think she's based out of I think she's out of Seattle, potentially. She was raw vegan, and she actually said the same thing to you.
Speaker 3:She started having dreams of eggs cooked in Kerrygold butter. And when she finally made the switch over to, like, a carnivore diet, that was the first meal that she had. So it's, like, literally embedded in your subconscious. It's like your body, your mind, your spirit is telling you what it actually wants.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And so not to shift gears too much, but I know nutrition, real foods, and building intuition, that's a huge part of your approach. But what are some of the other things that you really like to talk to women about in terms of optimizing their health, whether it's, like, sleep, getting off birth control, regulating your hormone health? I know that's also a huge part of your message too, so we'd love to dig into that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Oh my god. I love talking about birth control. Yeah. Because talk about, again, being cut off from your intuition.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. We are when women are on birth control, you actually don't you don't ovulate. So you're not actually having a period, which is crazy. When I learned this, I was so mad because we hear from our doctors, you know, like, oh, yeah. You have a a period every month on your birth control, but you also they would encourage us to skip it by just taking more pills.
Speaker 2:But what's actually happening is just something called a pill bleed. And they they just engineered these pills to make your body do that just so that you, like, could feel like you were just, you know, you still had a period and a cycle and everything, but you don't actually have a cycle. Because what's happening, we're we're also told that it's balancing our hormones. And so many women actually, in the very beginning, most women are actually not even put on birth control for what its sole use is as birth control. It's actually a lot of women were put on for acne or PCOS or endometriosis, all these other hormonal issues that are going on.
Speaker 2:And it's been prescribed as this, like, fix all for hormones. And we were told, by doctors that, oh, this will balance your hormones. Your hormones are unbalanced right now. This will balance it. That is a complete lie.
Speaker 2:What's actually happening is that it's replacing your own body's natural hormones with synthetic hormones. So these are hormones that your body does not make naturally. It is replacing them entirely, so you're not ovulating. And what I love to remind women of all the time is that your your entire cycle, is so much more than just, like, your fertility and getting pregnant. It's literally your your report card of your health every month.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You know? And so, like, if you're not getting your period, then that's your body telling you, like, something's up, you know? Or if you're dealing with PCOS, like, that's usually a blood sugar imbalance. So, like, I would go get checked for diabetes and, you know, really be on, like, your carbohydrate intake and your fat intake. And so what's happening is when we're putting women on these synthetic hormones that are also classified as a carcinogen one, by the way, which means that we know that they cause certain forms of cancer.
Speaker 2:And a lot of these women are putting on getting put on birth control at 15, 16, like really young impressionable ages where they don't even understand the full gravity of what they're doing to their bodies. And and I say all this, like, you know, for any women listening that this is your story, not to make you feel shamed at all. Like, this is, what is what is being done to women right now that I think is absolutely atrocious, and it's not it's not our fault, you know. This is part of a system, like, much bigger than us. And, they're taking advantage of us, like, not, you know, being in the dark about our bodies and being in the dark about, what these pharmaceutical drugs actually do to our bodies.
Speaker 2:And we don't teach women from a young age about our cycles at all. We know nothing like and we're told that we can get pregnant every day of the year, which actually it's really a window of, like, six to eight days. So why are we taking these synthetic hormones for thirty days out of the month being scared that we can get pregnant when it's actually only like a six to eight day window? We're not taught anything about our cycles or ovulation at all. So if you're a woman listening to this right now and you've been on birth control for a long time, I I never want to, tell anyone that they should do anything anyway.
Speaker 2:Like I said earlier earlier, I just really believe in informed consent. You know? Like, if you're on it and you love it and you feel great, like, more power to you because, like, one you know, you're the only one that really knows what's best for your body.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:But there is this huge awakening happening right now of women just being like, oh my god. What have I been doing to my body for so long? Mhmm. Another really wild fact that scares me, and I'm so grateful. I actually never I went on birth control twice when I was younger, a couple years apart.
Speaker 2:And both times, I couldn't even finish out the month because I I don't even know how like, I was just so connected with my body that I was like, oh my god. I feel insane. Like, I just felt so weird in my body that I couldn't do it. And so I stopped taking them. But a lot of women, what will happen is they'll go on birth control.
Speaker 2:They'll be on it for, you know, like, ten years. They'll meet their partner. They get married, and then they start trying to have kids. So they come off the birth control, and suddenly they're not attracted to their man anymore.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:And this is something that's happening because of the pheromones. Because when you think about when you're on synthetic hormones, those are not your true essence. Those are not your real hormones. And we're attracted to each other by hormones. And so your man I've I mean, I have friends that have these stories where they they came off and they're like, he literally smells different to me now.
Speaker 2:It's so bizarre. It's so bizarre.
Speaker 1:That's so crazy.
Speaker 2:So when you just think about all these things that it that it's doing to your body, why would we wanna be messing with that? You know, especially when you think about our hormones are vital to everyday life. Like, this isn't just, like, talking about whether or not you can get pregnant or not. It's like, your endocrine disrupt or so your endocrine system runs everything for your whole body, you know. It's like how your body, it's yeah.
Speaker 2:You need it for
Speaker 1:Yeah. And then you consider the age that most people are getting on these hormones too. It's crazy to think that most people are young adults or not even they're they're still in adolescence when they
Speaker 3:start taking those
Speaker 1:pills. They're girls. They're not women. They haven't even built up, like, the intuition of what their body's gonna be like as an adult. Yes.
Speaker 1:It's crazy.
Speaker 2:And too, there is a huge percentage. I don't know the exact percentage, but there is a massive percentage of women that, once they go on birth control, they shortly afterwards go on antidepressants because there is a massive swing in, upswing in depression when you go on these hormones. And I can't tell you I had a girlfriend tell me this the other day. She was like, I didn't even realize when I was on birth control for ten years, I was literally living in this, like, depression cloud Mhmm. That she felt lifted when she went off birth control.
Speaker 1:That's crazy.
Speaker 2:It's crazy.
Speaker 1:Let's take a minute to talk about some of the sponsors and brands who support the show. Who Who you thinking? I was thinking about Carnivore Bar. What what are your thoughts on Carnivore Bar?
Speaker 3:I mean, it's unbelievable. It's an unbelievable product. We were lucky enough to have the founder, Philip Meese, on the show a few months ago, and he was able to send us a bunch of product when we started the relationship and absolutely loved it. I mean, you know, it's minimum ingredient product, beef, tallow, salt. And then they do have a honey flavored option as well, but it's so nice to have a bar that's, like, three to four ingredients.
Speaker 3:And, like, when you're following a carnivore diet, it's really tough to find products that are in line with that specific diet. You know? Yeah. For me, it kinda hits, like, the holy trinity of what you're looking for when you're looking for food. So it's nutrient dense, it's convenient, and it tastes great.
Speaker 1:And as you said, most people who are trying to eat healthy, the convenience factor is kind of a a tough part. So just being able to have something you can grab on the go, know that you're gonna have that nutrition for the day, it's huge.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And we we were lucky enough. We got to actually see their factory too in Missouri, and they're just doing things the right way. I love how they offer an option for, like, carnivore purists where it's just beef, tallow, salt. And then they also have an animal based option too if you do want a little bit of sweetness, a little bit of variety.
Speaker 3:They have a honey in that option. And they're just people that are doing things the right way. They're very mission focused. They're carnivores themselves. And, you know, we're always on the go.
Speaker 3:We're traveling. We've taken a bunch of flights together to have a bar that has 30 grams of fat too. Like, that's huge from an energy density standpoint. Right?
Speaker 1:Yeah. He checks all the boxes or
Speaker 3:the company checks all the boxes, and I just think the fact that they're sourcing from a regenerative farm as well and Joyce Farms, just a win win. %. So Carnivore Bar. So we got the affiliate link, and then it's code mafia for 10% off.
Speaker 1:One of the other farms that supports us is Perennial Pastures, another regenerative farm out of San Diego. Our experience with Kevin Munoz, the owner, we had him on the show, a young first generation rancher who's really empowered by this movement of regenerative agriculture and really wants to be a leader in the space. I think our conversation with him was so insightful just in terms of how mission focused he is and how he really thinks about his farm as a business and wanting it to be here fifty, a hundred years down the road even though he's just the first generation of it. And I think just being able to spend time with him out in San Diego was kind of the perfect indication of that where we got to go have a meal with him at his house, hang out with his wife and kids. Like, what an amazing person.
Speaker 1:And I think his mission focus around raising really high quality beef and restoring nutrients to the soil is just one of one of those rare missions that I think everyone can get around.
Speaker 3:Yeah. He has such a commitment to really feeding the local community in San Diego in the San Diego County First and foremost, but he's also passionate about feeding the community around the country. So I know they've invested a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of resources to being able to order beef in bulk on their website. So I now I know that they now offer quarter half whole cows directly directly off the website. They have that great ancestral blend ground beef product, so it actually has organ grinds mixed into the ground beef.
Speaker 3:So you're getting the benefits of, like, an ounce or so of organ meat. But because it's in the ground beef, you really can't taste it at all. And I think to your point, Harry, just an another amazing person, you know, he Kev was someone that he was following a paleo diet in college and started realizing, wow. When I nourish my body with real foods, I feel amazing. Had a really successful stint in tech, but realized that there was just something else that he was passionate about.
Speaker 3:So he's one of those rare cases where, you know, he put his money where his mouth is, and he's a first generation farmer just, you know, bootstrapping this thing, raising money, and just so passionate about feeding the community. Just an amazing guy.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. Thanks for listening. Now we're gonna go back to the show. So what does managing or balancing your hormones naturally look like?
Speaker 1:Because I feel like that's something that anyone who's whether you're on birth control or off it, like, you should at least know how to manage it manage your hormones naturally so you can feel good and feel comfortable in your body.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Well, so there's a lot of there's a lot of different things you can do. One, I would encourage everyone to find a really good doctor. I would encourage you to look for an integrative or, my god, why am I a functional doctor. Because these doctors work from a more zoomed out perspective, and they look at the entire body as a whole.
Speaker 2:And they're not gonna be trying to push you to go on hormones or push you to go on certain pharmaceutical drugs. They wanna look at your entire lifestyle. They wanna look at your diet specifically and really, and two, they know how to to what labs to, order and how to read them. Because you you can't just do this like shooting in the dark. I can't just say, like, oh, take these supplements and you'll be fine.
Speaker 2:Because it totally depends on, like, my hormonal makeup is gonna be so different than someone who's been on birth control for ten years, you know, as you're trying to rebalance that. So highly encourage working with someone who's gonna do the blood work because that's gonna give you a lot of insight about what's actually happening in your body. Also, I love there's an app called Natural Cycles that, actually, it's synced to my Oura ring. So this Oura ring is my birth control, essentially. And so it syncs to an app in your phone.
Speaker 2:And you don't have to get the Oura ring, by the way, because I know the Oura ring is really expensive. You can just do the natural cycles and just get a a basal thermometer. And And you take your temperature every morning, and then based on where your temperature temperature is at, it tells you basically where you are in your cycle. So that's a lot of it too. A lot of it requires a bit of learning about your body and how your body works.
Speaker 2:But it's so much more empowering to know your body and know the ins and outs of it and know how your hormones work than just like taking a pill every month and suppressing all of it. You know? And so I'm a huge component of that or proponent for that. And then making sure that you're prioritizing really good healthy foods, like high quality fats, like I was saying earlier, making sure that you're eating enough protein. Also sleep.
Speaker 2:You mentioned sleep is a huge one. Thankfully, people are really starting to talk about this. I feel like sleep for a long time was kind of ignored. There was a lot of like, well, it's fine. Sleep and effort.
Speaker 2:But now we're really starting to realize that it's so important to be on a consistent schedule. Try to go to bed around the same hour every night. Obviously, no one's perfect. And you're gonna have a weekend where you got a party and it's fine. Like, don't let that derail you.
Speaker 2:But for the most part, if you can go to bed in a consistent time, wake up at a consistent time. Make sure you're getting sunlight first thing in the morning in your eyes. Like, go outside, maybe take a little walk if you have time. At least just go outside for a couple minutes. All of these things will help to signal to your body, you know, what first of all, like, where you're at in that time of the day, but also, to help with overall hormonal balances.
Speaker 3:I saw, I think it was Paul Saladino. He posted a video outside of a Lululemon shop and was talking about the amount of, like, right, like, hormone disrupting chemicals that are in, like, the leggings and the tops and everything like that. And I don't know if it's BPA. I don't know the exact chemical terminology, but I'm curious if that's something you're mindful of, if clothing, things that women should be thinking about too. I mean, and men, obviously.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean, it's a huge problem across the board right now. So that's another one too is that we are getting so flooded with hormones from so many different or not even necessarily hormones. What's happening is we're there's so many different chemicals in our tap water, in our food, like pesticides. Also in our food, the plastic, containers a lot of our food is in.
Speaker 2:Or like plastic water bottles, for example. These chemicals like BPA, but there's also b p or yeah. BPS and, PFAs, which are forever chemicals that are leaching into our food and into our water. So they're getting into our body. And then you look at women specifically, this is way more of a problem for women than men.
Speaker 2:Women on average are exposed to a 68 chemicals a day because of the products that we use, like the body lotions and the, you know, the makeup and just the general, like, care for women that men don't do as much. So we're being exposed to all these different chemicals that we now know a lot of them are endocrine disrupting, meaning that they are causing imbalances in our hormones. And this is also another huge reason why we're seeing infertility and why we're seeing so many hormonal imbalances. And then the clothing is another one too. So I will say, admittedly, that's one I haven't even fully tackled yet.
Speaker 2:Like, I'm starting to buy more organic clothes and stuff. It's just like, you know, I'm sure even the listener right now is like, oh my god. There's so much stuff we have to worry about. You know? Right.
Speaker 2:And so it's kind of like, I wanna encourage people, like, you know, one step at a time. Like, clean up your makeup products, clean up your beauty products, clean up your cleaning products in your house. The clothing is a big one. Yeah. Like Lululemon, all these massive, what's that company recently?
Speaker 2:Shein, I think, where they found lead in their clothing.
Speaker 3:Are you serious?
Speaker 1:Yes. That's terrible.
Speaker 2:It's terrible. And then you think about, like, Lululemon. So I I think what he found was, PFAs, which are the poly, I always forget how to say it, polyfluorinated something. I can't remember exactly what the whole thing is. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't know. We can look it up. But it's basically yeah. Basically, they're forever chemicals, and it's what's found in, like, Teflon, which Teflon, I believe, is being phased out now. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:But it's these chemicals that are, like, nonstick or the stuff that's being sprayed on stuff to make it waterproof. So all your, like, waterproof, jacket like rain jackets and boots, and it's in, like, workout clothes and stuff. And we're realizing that they're calling them forever chemicals because once they're in the environment, they never break down. They're in the environment indefinitely. And then we know they affect the endocrine disrupt or they affect the endocrine system by disrupting it, leading to thyroid problems, infertility, cancers in some case.
Speaker 2:It's a huge concern. And then you think about you're working out in this close. So you're, like, sweating, your pores are opening, and then those chemicals are going directly into your bloodstream. So it is a concern, but it's like, man, there's a lot of stuff out there in our in our environment right now.
Speaker 1:There's so much stuff. It can be so overwhelming too, just for the average person. Like, I mean, for me, like, I like I I like to make the changes that I can measure.
Speaker 2:Right?
Speaker 1:Like, the things like, wearing cotton closing clothes is obviously a huge step in the right direction. It's something that probably accumulates over time. But for most people, they wanna be able to, like, feel the change happen at least in, like, you know, a week or so or two weeks, like, at least to tell that they're going in the right direction. So I do feel like habit change is something that is so important to talk about when it comes to nutrition and lifestyle because it's so much more than just do this, do that. It's how do you do it?
Speaker 1:How do you make it a lifestyle? How can you make it stick? So I'm wondering if you have any tips for people who are just stuck, need to, like, have something that just spurs them to make some action, create some positive habits in their life.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I think the first step is just really making peace with the fact that this is actually happening. Because I think there's a lot of denial of people saying, like, no. Like, that's a conspiracy or the you know, they would never allow that on the shelves or, or, you know, the government's regulating all this. Guys, I'm sorry, but they're not.
Speaker 2:You know? And this is becoming one of the biggest issues of our generation that we will fix because so many people are waking up to it now. But that is part that is your first step. You gotta admit there's a problem. You know?
Speaker 2:And, and then from there, it's, you know, it's kind of it's a baby steps approach of, okay, what can I what can I actively change today? Also, really getting in touch with your why, you know, and using that as your North Star. Like, why why are you concerned about this? And using that to remember to also, you know, be that kind of driving force. Like for me, my why is I wanna live a long time.
Speaker 2:I also don't wanna be sick while I'm here on this planet. I really would love to not get cancer. I would really love to not, get all of these standard American diseases that so many people are suffering from on such crazy levels right now. And so for me, I'm like, okay. I'm gonna do the best that I possibly can do.
Speaker 2:What are the tangible things that I can change today? And then it just kind of like spirals from there. You know? I mean, when I first got into all of this, it's not like I changed everything overnight. So it it is baby steps and there's a lot of compassion involved knowing that, you were doing the best that you could with the information you had then.
Speaker 2:And now that you know better, you do better.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And just knowing that you've been doing the best you can up until now, and now you know, and now you can make these little changes and not feeling like you have to make all those changes overnight. You know? Because as you do one thing, then another thing happens, and then it's just like kind of a snowball effect that just kinda naturally happens as well. And you just tackle the little things as you can. You know?
Speaker 3:Definitely. It's such a good point. And we had Mark Sisson on a couple weeks ago, and one of the he's amazing. And one of the things he was talking about, it really reminded me of what you're saying is there's something about human psychology where we're really wired to want all these biohacking tools versus the very simple, like, sustainable solutions. Like, we want the cold plunge.
Speaker 3:We want the Oura ring. We want the supplements. We want the protein powder. But it's like, why don't you prioritize sleeping eight hours like you said, shopping the outer aisle at the grocery store, maybe switching to some cotton clothing, getting eight hours of sleep. It's like these very simple things that are super unsexy, but, like, compounded over time, you can legitimately change your genetics, which is such an amazing thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Most of those things don't cost any money. And then, you know, an added layer too to give some people some comfort. So the fact of the matter is we know that we're being infiltrated with all these different toxins from so many different areas right now. Right?
Speaker 2:And we can do one of two things. We can totally spiral out and be like, oh my god. We're all, you know, fucked and we can't do anything about it. Or there are things you can do, like prioritize sweating every day. You know, prioritize moving your body.
Speaker 2:That doesn't that doesn't mean like, to your point, that doesn't mean that you need to go get, like, a $12,000 sauna and, like, an insane, like, $300 a month gym membership. That literally could look like you do a hot bath with Epsom salts in it. That's basically free, like, hot enough to where you sweat. And then go for a run outside, go for a walk around your neighborhood. Obviously, if you have the money for all these tools, do it.
Speaker 2:You know, if you have access to a sauna, tell people try to sweat at least a couple times a week because that's at least gonna get your lymphatic system moving. It's gonna get a lot of those toxins out. Like, there's things that we can do to mitigate some of the effects of it. And then it's, you know, being on your diet, making sure you're eating healthy so that your detoxification pathways are open and clear so that your body can get rid of a lot of this stuff. Because another thing too is our bodies are miraculous.
Speaker 3:They're amazing. Yes.
Speaker 1:So
Speaker 2:there's a lot of things that our body is doing for us that we don't even give it enough credit for. So we're not completely fucked, but they're you know, we need to be aware of this and be doing the things that we can. But, yeah, like, do the things that you can. And, it doesn't have to be as hard as we sometimes make it out to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And a lot of it can be free too. Like, most of the efficient efficient and effective stuff is free. Getting more sleep, getting sunlight, being active. Like, you can do all of that without spending a dollar.
Speaker 2:Yes. Exactly.
Speaker 3:And fun too. Yes. I think there's this misconception with a lot of millennials, like friends that I have from New York that haven't made that shift over towards this lifestyle that think that, like, oh, you're depriving yourselves of so many different foods and experiences and memories. And it's like, why don't you try cooking a meal with some of your best friends and see how much fun you have that night? Like, some of my favorite memories ever, like getting a couple people around a table, cooking some steak, some vegetables, like, something really simple and just sharing a meal maybe with, like, a little bit of wine and, like, you have great laughs.
Speaker 3:And I don't know. It's like these these simple things. Things. If you could just promote that to people, they don't even understand what they're missing out on.
Speaker 2:I love this so much, and it reminds me of what this woman said at the conference this weekend that was so profound. She was like, what people don't understand that are not that are not paying attention and they're just eating the standard American diet, they're eating these processed foods, they're not prioritizing their health, they're giving up their freedom. They're giving up their freedom to living a high quality long life. They're giving up their freedom to be able to play with their kids, have energy to see their friends, have energy to do the things that they wanna do every day. Because when you're when you're even just, like, moderately sick, like your joints are inflamed, your back hurts, like, you know, I I'm not even talking about, you know, the diseases like diabetes and the stuff where it's really starting to affect people.
Speaker 2:Even just on a, like, a lower grade level, if you're living with some sort of inflammation, you're not gonna have the energy to go out with your friends and, go for a hike or go do the things that you genuinely love to do. Or, like, if you have kids, like, I wanna have a lot of energy for my kids. I wanna be able to run run around and, like, you know, do all the things that they wanna do. And I wanna be able to spend quality time with the people that I love. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And when you're sick, even low grade, like, you can't be present. Totally. And so you're giving up your freedom by not prioritizing yourself and your health.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And we were talking about this with Mark as well. It was like, there you your health obviously should be the center of your life, but your life should, like you shouldn't be stressing about it. You shouldn't be white knuckling your self to just, like, constantly be thinking about your health. Like, it should just there should be so much more flow
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:To that relationship to your body, and just, I think you should be spending time enjoying the people and the things that you like to do, and the health should just be the backbone of that.
Speaker 2:Yes. Yeah. And and I I will say too, I think everyone oh, I can only speak to my experience. But when I first really started getting into health, I think there there is this period of time where you're like, oh my god, everything's gonna kill us and I can only eat these, like, five things. Right.
Speaker 2:But but that that passes. Yeah. You know? Like, I you find a a place of equilibrium. It's kind of with everything in life.
Speaker 2:It's like you kinda go from one extreme to the other. And so if you're, like, at the beginning of your health journey and you're like, oh my god. I'm throwing out everything, and I can only eat these, like, few things and whatever. Like, just know that you'll also find balance in that. Like, I don't even stress about what I eat anymore.
Speaker 2:I don't really stress about, like, anything anymore because I feel like I've I just have it so dialed in, and it's just so second nature to me now. Mhmm. And then I I prioritize things like, to your point where you're saying, like, cooking these amazing dinners with friends. And I I love showing friends that real food actually tastes good. Yes.
Speaker 2:There's this misconception that food like, when you eat healthy, that it's, like, bland and, like, doesn't taste good. And the people think of, like, the body builder builders that are just eating the, like, boiled chicken with no spices and broccoli. I'm like, I wouldn't eat that.
Speaker 3:Right. It's a terrible way to go through life.
Speaker 2:Yes. Have
Speaker 3:you tried pluck seasoning before? No. I'm not. He he was at KetoCon. He was, like, a gourmet chef that cooked for Tom Cruise and all these incredible celebrities, and he also went paleo and really get it started getting into his nutrition.
Speaker 3:And he was like, alright. Well, I have this amazing ability to make food taste good. Could I make things like organs and ancestral tenants taste really good as well? So he has a he has a rub that actually has, like, an ounce of organ meat per serving.
Speaker 2:It's amazing.
Speaker 3:Like, the most delicious rub that you ever have. So you can, like, put it on vegetables. You could put it on steak. But there's all these right? There's all these incredible brands that are coming out now that can make this nourishing food taste even better.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean, real food tastes good.
Speaker 1:It does. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Honestly, like, I don't think the packaged food stuff even tastes good anymore. I taste it. I'm like, ugh. This tastes artificial to me. You know?
Speaker 3:Because you've rewired your palate and your taste buds. And once you do that, you can't go back.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 3:You you had a you had a video where you're like, your food should make you dance in excitement. I forget. What what was the rest you made some incredible recipe.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 3:You were so fired up about it.
Speaker 2:Oh my god. I was so happy about that. Oh, yeah. What did I make? I it was honestly, it was such a simple recipe too.
Speaker 2:It was this, oh my god. It was this coconut milk rice, and then I had these, like, tamari greens, like bok choy, and there's something else in there with tamari. And then I just made this really amazing seasoned salmon. And, like, I guess, describing it, I'm not giving the full potential of of what it really was, but it was so good. And I was, like, dancing around my apartment.
Speaker 2:And I was just like, you I I have a personal rule that everything I eat has to taste good Mhmm. And also be good for me.
Speaker 1:That's a great sign that the food's probably pretty good.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. You know, it doesn't mean that you have to be choking back, like, dry, you know, gross meat and unflavored or, you know, unseasoned vegetables. You can do it right.
Speaker 3:%. One of the last things that I wanted to ask you was, obviously, like, I feel like the Real Foodology brand and Instagram, you've you've taken off so much. You post so much good content. Do you have advice for any content creators that really wanna get in the game and kinda share their gifts with the world? Like, how to just be consistently posting and creating new content?
Speaker 3:Like, what does that process kinda look like for you?
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean, first and foremost, I would say, make sure you're really passionate about it, you guys, because it is like, this isn't like a woe is me journey or anything. But, like, it's a lot of work, you guys. And I don't think people understand how much just that goes into it. So it definitely just make sure it's something you're very, very passionate about because otherwise, you you will not have the energy to keep going.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's the only thing that keeps me going is that I'm so passionate about this conversation that I think everyone needs to know and hear, that I will do anything to get the message out there. But, yeah, it takes a lot of work, especially now because the out because of the algorithm, it really favors accounts that are just constantly posting, which I really have, I have a hard time with because as a health professional and as someone who knows what social media is doing to our brain, I can see it firsthand and how, I don't feel as good when I spend a lot of time online. And there's this juxtaposition where, like, you in order to really grow, you have to be on a lot. Mhmm. You need to be engaging with people.
Speaker 2:When I first grew my Instagram, it was like I mean, I was on it, like, seven hours a day. And I hate to admit that, but I was basically posting three times a day, engaging with everyone. So, like, commenting back to every single comment. You wanna respond to all of your DMs as well. Because also too, like, you have to think about it from perspective of your you're building a community.
Speaker 2:And you you know, I I'm doing this because I'm genuinely passionate about it and because I really wanna help people. So, I feel this certain obligation to respond to every message and try to help people where I can. And, so there is this element of you have to be very, very engaged with your community, and you need to be posting a lot. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Even what you said with Real Foodology, two thousand eleven, you started. So it's like a thirteen year journey to get where you are now.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That juxtaposition is a really interesting point too because I don't think a lot of people think about it in that context. I I I really do think that, like, the mental side of social media is something that all these health influencers probably run into at some point.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah. Yeah. I really I just hit the microphone. Sorry, guys. I got so excited about this.
Speaker 2:I was
Speaker 1:like, whew.
Speaker 2:I I haven't even, like, really talked about this that much online, but I had a period of time where I was really struggling mentally with showing up online. And it it it was because of Instagram. It's not like there was something else going on in the background of my life, but it was like, social media is I mean, we're starting to talk about it, but my belief is that we have no idea what it's actually really doing to us right now. Like, we all we're feeling the effects of it, but we're not actually gonna really know. We're gonna look back in, like, twenty years and be like, woah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Wow. Yeah. We were really, not doing well. And you can tell.
Speaker 2:You can just tell by I I've been so I've been on Instagram since 02/2011, and I have seen a stark difference just even in the way that people interact with me in the last couple years versus, before that. You know? And that just really shows you the mental state of of our population right now and especially people on social media. The, the vitriol that gets sent at you, and you can just tell a lot of people are really going through a hard time. And I think a lot of that is, there's a lot of comparison happening.
Speaker 2:You know, maybe people will come on my page and think that I'm this, like, holier than thou and I every have everything figured out and I do everything perfectly. But also, like, you're totally discounting the fact that, like, this was a really, really long journey, like you said, for me to get here. You know? And it's like that graph where you see where, like, success is not a direct line. It's like, you're going up and down and backwards and, like, sideways and you know?
Speaker 2:And so people just can see where you're at in this very moment, and they don't take into account, like, everything you've been through before that. And, yeah, social media is just it's a it's hard.
Speaker 3:That's crazy. Yeah. It's definitely a double edged sword. And I feel like you get so many overwhelmingly positive comments, but I have seen some negative stuff on your negative comments on your on your page as well because it's, like, people that just misassume that, oh, you're just trying to ride the wave, not realize realizing your passion for nutrition. And it's like you have to just take that stuff with a grain of salt because no one that's commenting negative stuff on a TikTok post is doing anything productive with their lives.
Speaker 2:Exactly. And to be honest, whenever I I I I try to put myself in their shoes, and I think you have to be in a pretty bad place mentally to leave a really horrible comment like that on someone's page. Yes. And so I try to I try to just, like, lead with compassion. And I'm like, okay.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm just gonna ignore it. They're having a bad day or whatever it is. You know? Because it's
Speaker 1:yeah. Yeah. What can the world expect from Real Foodology going forward? What's next on the horizon?
Speaker 2:I love this question. I think, eventually, a book, but we haven't fully formed that yet. Would love to do a product. So I'm kind of, like, toying with some ideas right now on products. And, possibly like, I I've talked about possibly doing a show at some point.
Speaker 2:That's really, I think, my, like, number one passion. Yeah. But in the meantime, just more videos on, grocery store. I wanna go to more restaurants. And, I have a video coming out this week showing you, restaurants in well, a restaurant, but I'm gonna try to do more of them, where you can find seed oil free restaurants.
Speaker 3:Nice.
Speaker 2:That's a huge one. And, yeah, that's gonna where I'm at right now.
Speaker 3:It's gonna be super valuable. But you said it all, though. Thank you so much for joining us. You've had a huge impact on us. You've had a huge impact on a lot of people and just appreciate the fact that there's people like you that exist that are fighting the good fight.
Speaker 3:And, we'll do a round two at Erewhon in LA next time.
Speaker 2:Yes. I would love to take you guys to Erewhon.
Speaker 3:Love it.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. Yeah. I really appreciate you guys having me on. Thank you.
Speaker 3:Thanks, Courtney.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Thanks, Courtney.
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