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Galatians 5:22-23 NLT "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"   *Transcription Below*   Hi, I'm Emily Johnson. I am a homeschool mama of two beautiful kiddos, married to my high school sweetheart, and the owner of Gracious Healing, a online nutritional practice that works with families to get to the root of their health issues with a holistic view and approach. I deeply love Jesus and pursue Him in all that I do, including health.  After walking through decades of undiagnosed health issues, I was lead to the world of functional medicine and eventually into the holistic health world. After finding support for my body and that of my kids (who have been on their own health journeys) I was able to pursue further education and began working with clients on a 1:1 basis, to help them find the hope and health that I have found.   Emily's Website   Questions and Topics We Cover: Another topic of health is pursuing the opposite of isolation, which is relationships. What does friendship do to us, even at a hormonal or bio-physical level? Will you share all your wisdom on the topic of nutrition? What other health topics have we not yet covered that you want to mention as we get started?   Thank You to Our Sponsor:  Sam Leman Eureka   Other Episodes Mentioned from The Savvy Sauce: 254 Raising Healthy Children with Dr. Charles Fay   Additional Savvy Sauce Episodes Related to Healthy Living: 3. Being intentional with our health, finances, and relationships with business leader, writer, and speaker, Elizabeth Dixon 14. Simple Changes for Healthier Living with Chick-fil-A Wellness Experts, Vasu Thorpe and Leslie Sexton 23. Nurturing Friendships With Harvard Graduate, Jackie Coleman 25. Leadership Principles and Practices with Former NFL Player, J Leman 81. Sacred Rest with Doctor, Wife, Mother, and Author, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith 251. Wintering and Embracing Holy Hygge with Jamie Erickson 256. Gut Health, Allergies, Inflammation and Proactive Solutions with Emily Macleod-Wolfe   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook, Instagram or Our Website   Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:10 - 1:40) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.   The principles of honesty and integrity that Sam Leman founded his business on continue today, over 55 years later, at Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka.   Owned and operated by the Burchie family, Sam Leman and Eureka appreciates the support they've received from their customers all over central Illinois and beyond. Visit them today at LemanGM.com.   As I mentioned last time, my amazing guest, Emily Johnson, had so much goodness to share that we decided to split this episode into two parts, so I'm going to make sure that you first go back to part one before you listen to this episode today.   But I'm looking forward now to continuing the chat about nutritional benefits and soul benefits and relational benefits in our health and the health in our children with my returning guest, Emily Johnson. Another topic that's health-related is pursuing the opposite of isolation, which is relationships. So, Emily, what does friendship do to us or do to our children, even at hormonal levels and biophysical levels?   Emily Johnson: (1:40 - 8:39) Yeah, yeah. So, you know, when I was really, really, really sick, from a pretty young age on, and then I had kids really young, and so my kids had some health issues. I was sick. I felt so isolated, and I really, really, really was discouraged when people would speak about community.   You have to be in community, right? And all the sermons and different things, books, these great books are like, you have to be in community, and I'm like, I don't know how to do that with where I'm at. I don't have, I barely have capacity, right, to like feed my children and like get out of bed most days.   How in the world am I supposed to like go find community? And so, I think that, one, I always go back to, for those people who do struggle, and they are in a season where community is tough, right? I always, I love the saying, where the ideal lacks, grace abounds, and there's something beautiful that happens within that, right?   So just to speak to that, because I feel like so many women I walk with have had seasons in their life, or whether it's health-related, or their kids, or just there, you know. Mom home with four young kids, and they just don't have capacity, or their single mom with four kids, and they're working full-time. Right, they just don't have great capacity for community. I always want to plug that reminder in that there are seasons, and God's grace always abounds beyond what is ideal. But then we take it too ideal, right?   And we say, what does that actually look like? And we were made for community, right? We see all the fun videos of the little kids who are like the babies who were in the womb together, right?   And you come out, and they're still like touching, right? We were made for connection. There's something really, really amazing that happens from a cellular level.   When we are, when we are hugged, right, you see some of those neurosciences of like, you need to hug for six seconds a day, because it'll increase your endorphins, you know, and so there's this beautiful thing. There is, in certain science communities, there is a thing called biofield, right? And so it's kind of this idea that from six feet out from me in any direction, I kind of have this like space, like there's a spatial awareness that most of us have about six feet like outside of our bodies.   And when you kind of like, you know, when you're like somebody walks up behind you, and you just know somebody's behind you, even though you haven't turned around or heard them necessarily, but there's just this awareness that they're there. And that is just, I think, so ingrained in who we are to be in community, because we actually have been created not for isolation, but we've been created even with this biofilm biofield idea that we actually get to when people are around us, right, there's an energy that happens, right? When my kid is sick, there's like this energy transfer that happens when my kiddo is sick, and their energy is low, their overall body is just depleted, right?   When I hold them and touch them, there's actually can be like this cool transfer that happens from an electrical perspective that actually boosts them back up, right? Why do we hold babies skin on skin? Because there is that super, super crucial need for connection.   One of my favorite studies I always refer to is a heart map study, where they took babies and mom, and they hooked mom and baby up to like heart monitors. They had mom just kind of like go through her natural day. Right, really smiley, happy, and they kind of watch baby match mom's heartbeat completely like in sync. And then they said, “Okay mom, like start running, like don't change your facial expression or your tone, but start running through all the like scary things that you have going on, right, and all the worries and fears and all the things.”   And they watch mom's heart rate level start coming up, and then they watch baby's heart rate level start coming up, right? Like we were just designed from the womb to connect with people. Then they found those who they ran some studies on who had moms who were super depressed, right? They weren't in connection.   They had whatever lives, whatever circumstances led to this, those kiddos didn't have the kind of intense one-on-one connection, maybe that another kid did. And just watching that those kids had a harder time empathizing and being around other people, right? So, like this idea that from the womb we were designed to be connected to one another, that there is something ingrained in our soul, right?   That the Lord put there that deeply, we deeply want community, but beyond community we want to be known and seen and loved, right? And obviously the ultimate desire is to be known and seen and loved by God the Father, but at a lesser level like we have been created to see that in one another and champion one another and encourage one another, right? One of my favorite Bible stories is when Moses is holding his hands up, right?   And as long as his arms are up, the Israelites are winning, but the minute his arm starts to fall, and then you know you have Aaron and her have to come lift his arms up, and he sits down and they're the ones holding his arms. And I just think that is such a picture of when we have this vision of what God's called us to, and kind of whether that be a mom or a specific vocation or a specific ministry, when we have been called as women to do that, but yet there's these seasons where we're like we're still trying really hard to do that, but I'm so wiped out and tired, right? You need those people around you who are going to go hold your arms up so that the battle doesn't break.   The battle is not going to stop whether you drop your arms or not, it's still going to keep going. And so, when we look at that from just again, like a metabolic perspective, we see that heart rates come down, right? We see someone super, super anxious in isolation, they go into a community where they feel seen and known and loved, and their body comes into this beautiful, restful, parasympathetic state, right?   I would say a caveat to that is a little bit of picking your community well, because I think that the opposite is true. You go into a community where everyone's naggy and negative and discouraging, and you will walk away feeling gross and weary and tired, right? And it doesn't necessarily...   Good community is what again boosts your soul, but it actually... I had a client, it was my favorite story, is we were having a hard time getting her blood sugar stable, and we were kind of trying all these things, and then she went and hung out with her girlfriend, and she was super tired that day, it had been a really, really stressful week, goes and hangs out with her girlfriend outside, right? Letting the kids play at the park, and that's all she did.   And her blood sugar, she took her blood sugar, and her blood came perfectly back into balance, right? And just, we need community for every metabolic process, honestly.   Laura Dugger: (8:40 - 9:27) That is incredible, and it is such a powerful truth, because I'd love to also talk about handling, managing, minimizing stress, which is important, but I think the enemy, our enemy, Satan, wants to convince us that if you're stressed, just power through, whereas like you said, God's inviting us into community with Him and with others. He's created us to need both, and that that is even more important, that trumps the stress and may even help us diminish the stress. So, I know it's not helpful for us to hear, you just need to lower your stress in your life, but how can we actually do that, and why is it beneficial?   Emily Johnson: (9:28 - 14:18) Yeah, so, we talked a little bit earlier about just kind of the idea of fight and flight, and I think one of the things that you see a lot in the world of holistic medicine is just looking at the nervous system. Because if I, everything that we're kind of bringing in is create, like our brains are always hyper vigilant and always looking at, is this safe? Is this not safe? So, you have somebody who is always stressed, always anxious, always running, running, running, running.   Your brain is kind of almost starting to get primed to think everything is dangerous, everything is a lie, and everything I need to be afraid of, right? And so, when we're constantly in that place, you never really, you're sleeping, just because you go to sleep, people are like, I sleep six hours a night. I'm like, you're unconscious six hours of the night. Are you actually getting restored sleep?   Or are you just running, running, running, and then you go to sleep. Yeah, you're unconscious, because your body's like, I'm exhausted, but is your mind actually calming down? Is your heart rate coming down, right? And so, when you look at the overall, every process of the body, there's so much that is related to nervous system, right?   Your breath, like we're not thinking about our hearts beating right now, or our lungs opening and closing. But our nervous system is, right? Our nervous system is always assessing and communicating.   And so, every sound we hear, every noise we come in contact with, every smell, light, right? All of it is having to be processed through that. And so, when you look at that, I would say there's a lot of stress in life that we can't control.   We're always looking, it's kind of like, you know, going on a bear hunt when they're like, we can't go under it, we can't go over it, we have to go through it. There's a lot of stress in life. That we just have to plow through.   I can't help my special needs kid, like I can't take that away, right? I can't help my marriage that's struggling. I can't necessarily run, I can't just like move around, you know, the financial struggles or whatever.   I can't always control everything, but I often go back to, but what can we control? Because when we kind of get into a place where we understand, I can't heal or be functionally healthy if I don't feel safe. So, do I feel safe, right?   And again, I can't control everything, but I often can sit with Jesus, and he will help me change the perspective of it. And so, when we look at how we, right, stress is going to put a huge burden on every organ system. Stress is going to put a huge burden on our adrenals.   Most of us know that kind of specifically, but it's going to put a huge stress on our nervous system. And so, where we can minimize stress, where it is within our control is always the best place to start, right? Again, sometimes simple things like unplugging your Wi-Fi will limit your metabolic stress, eating protein, right?   Eating good whole foods, not being dehydrated. Those are all things that are going to limit. Those are all most of the time within the stress that we can control, right?   I can control being on my phone, which has crazy blue light. And then right before I go to bed, which is going to like create a whole issue with my circadian rhythm. Like I can control putting my phone away.   I can control how I breathe and how I get outside. And so, minimizing stress, being in community with friends that are encouraging you and lifting you up, like those type of things are all things that we often can control at some level in order to help minimize that stress that way. Because the point I think of is the whole of health in general, right?   We know 2 Corinthians chapter four is my favorite because it's like we're all wasting away and this body is going to waste away. So, what is the point of this, right? And the point of it, I believe, is resilience to some degree.   Do we understand the processes of our body? Are we actively working to create some resilience? So, things don't knock us out, right?   You have some people, they'll get real sick, or they'll get into a car accident or something. And it's not major from the world's perspective, but metabolically it is enough stress and trauma that their whole system shuts down. Right?   Like the goal is that we are always renewing our spirit, but we're always working towards resiliency. And so, the more we can minimize stress, the better resiliency, every part of our body from a nervous system perspective, all the way down to a cellular perspective, it's going to function better and have more resiliency. So, when stress does come that we can't control, we can handle it better and not, it doesn't blow us over so quickly.   Laura Dugger: (14:18 - 15:59) And now a brief message from our sponsor, Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka has been owned and operated by the Burchie family for over 25 years. A lot has changed in the car business since Sam and Steven's grandfather; Sam Leman opened his first Chevrolet dealership over 55 years ago. If you visit their dealership today, though, you'll find that not everything has changed.   They still operate their dealership like their grandfather did with honesty and integrity. Sam and Steven understand that you have many different choices in where you buy or service your vehicle. This is why they do everything they can to make the car buying process as easy and hassle free as possible.   They are thankful for the many lasting friendships that began with a simple welcome to Sam Leman's. Their customers keep coming back because they experience something different. I've known Sam and Steven and their wives my entire life and I can vouch for their character and integrity, which makes it easy to highly recommend you check them out today.   Your car buying process doesn't have to be something you dread. So, come see for yourself at Sam Leman Chevrolet in Eureka. Sam and Steven would love to see you, and they appreciate your business.   Learn more at their website, LemanEureka.com or visit them on Facebook by searching for Sam Leman Eureka. You can also call them at 309-467-2351. Thanks for your sponsorship.   Okay, Emily, everything you've said so far is gold. But there's a huge piece of our health, which is nutrition. And as we're training our children on healthy nutrition, I just love to hear all your wisdom on this topic.   So, take it where you'd like.   Emily Johnson: (16:00 - 24:16) Yeah, okay. Nutrition is part of my story, is actually nutrition was the thing that got me in the store that I write. I had so many crazy health things.   I remember asking a doctor at one point, like, will, if I change my diet, will that help? And he was like, no, right? That's not going to help your seizures. That's not going to help your allergies. That's not going to help all the stress, right? And all the things that you have.   And, which, by the way, right, to kind of go back to the stress thing, the amount of times that people who are really truly unhealthy are told it's just in your head, it's just stress, right? It's, it's crazy. So, I feel like there's that level of like, do what you can to deal with the stress, but also, you're not crazy.   If something doesn't feel right, it's probably not right. And you're probably not just so stressed that right, there's a level that is true that we can control, but then sometimes it has nothing to do with what you're doing. Just a little snippet in there.   Just because I think that can be so helpful for moms to hear sometimes it's okay. It's not all in your head, you're not making it up. But when we look at nutrition, when I started diving into it, I always joke that I was going to write a book that said like, it started with paleo, right?   Because we dove into this world of paleo. And all of a sudden, all these symptoms that I had been told I was going to live with forever, all of a sudden started disappearing. And I was like, I don't need my inhaler anymore.   I don't have seizures anymore. I'm sleeping better. I feel better.   My puffiness is gone, like all because I changed my diet like this. Why in the world did no one tell me this sooner? Right?   Which is crazy. So, when you look at again, nutrition, and we're saying what did God give us and all the different levels of nutrition, you can look at macronutrients. So, that's your protein, your carbohydrates and your fat.   Those when we look at metabolic processes, those are like our big three that we want to get in every meal to kind of keep that fire burning, right? So, from a metabolic perspective, you want metabolism is so huge in hormones, metabolism is huge in our weight, and how we feel and just energy levels in general. And so, when you're getting good protein, good carbs, good healthy fats.   And obviously, with all of these, right, there can be not so great proteins and not so great carbs, right? We're like, “Oh, I ate a cinnamon roll.” I'm like, well, not probably your best carbohydrate.   But so, when I talk about these things, what I'm always meaning is God made food, right? God food that is in its closest to full nature, right? And obviously, we've altered food over the years.   But to the best of our ability, what grows in the ground, what grows on the earth is what I'm talking about. I'm not necessarily processed food, even things like Siete chips, right? Those things are like, yes, their ingredients are better, but still processed, right?   Crackers, I don't care if they're gluten free, they're still processed. And so, when we talk about this, we're talking about just whole food, God food, right? And so, it doesn't matter what you have doesn't matter, the health situations, you have kind of the background you're coming from, everyone can on a fundamental foundational level, look at their nutrition and say, food is the building block to my health.   So, when I give again, we kind of talked a lot about nervous system and information, when I give the body good nutrition through what I'm eating, it is going to help every cell of the body right function and thrive. And when we're getting those good nutrients in, you're going to get all those you're looking at the big macros, but then we're looking at the micronutrients, you know, so, a lot of people talk about magnesium and calcium, right?   And so, all those are, you know, selenium, vitamin D, right, not necessarily synthetic form, but in so many of our foods, these nutrients are in abundance when you eat whole foods, right.   And so, I feel like for so many people one of the best things because food can also become this really, really, really scary topic. I always say if you want to tick somebody off, talk about their money and talk about what they're eating. Because everyone's like, now I'm mad.   Now you're not my friend, right? How dare you talk about what I'm putting in my mouth. And I think there's a really interesting spiritual component to what we see all throughout Israelites, right?   And just how they grumbled because their bellies were driving the train, right? Like God is literally giving them manna from heaven, his glory, like food, the angels food is on the ground. And they're like, I want to go back into captivity because they had leeks and watermelon, right?   And it's like, this isn't a new thing. Food is really hard and can be really scary for people to talk about because we are really honestly controlled by our stomachs more than most of us would like to admit. And so, when we look at food in general and nutrition, and we're being really honest with ourselves, right?   We don't want to be in a place of fear. That's I think the biggest thing with all the holistic space, just like this health realm is sometimes we trade like Western medicine for which we're afraid, like we're fearful and that like I, you know, we have to take antibiotics. We don't want to get, um, we don't want the strep throat to get out of control.   But then we run to this holistic side and we're like, well, I don't want to take the antibiotics. I'm afraid my gut microbiome is going to be all mess. I'm like either side, you're still walking in fear.   God's word tells us to not be afraid, right? This is the point of this is, is to empower us to make us stand in awe of our creator who made all of this in such abundance for our good. He created all of our bodies, right?   He created every mechanism, every cell. So, of course he's going to give us the nutrition in the food that we eat in order to help support those natural functions of the body when we eat food that he's created. Right.   And so, I say that with food because I think most people we can dive down, right? Some people do need very specific diets for short period of time to create better function in their body. Maybe they have an overgrowth of something and certain foods are not helping them kind of achieve that overall kind of thriving stability.   But for most of us, my favorite thing when it comes to nutrition is to go back to Philippians chapter four, right? What is good? What is true?   What is lovely? What is pure, right? And when we're focusing on that part of nutrition, we are just undone, right?   How do you combat fear? You stand in awe. And when we can stand in awe of how God created an egg, right?   Like we get to consume an egg, and an egg isn't just protein fat. It also is vitamin D and selenium, right? And all these other micro macro nutrients that we get to consume.   And all of a sudden, right, we're taught to sit and pray and thank God for our food. And we're like, but what does that mean? We're just pausing and taking a deep breath, which is there is some really interesting health studies that have agreed with that, right?   And they're like, you need to pause and breathe every time before you eat to better further digestion. But what are we actually doing? Are we teaching our children, like, look at this asparagus and this chicken breast that you get to eat?   Do you understand how intentional our God is that he made this food with such nutrient packed availability for you to be able to function right within your body. So, when we look at every part of the body, every process of the body, we need good information, right? Good food to be able to come in to support that.   And I think most people, when we use nutrition, you don't need your multivitamins, you don't need some of these things like food is fundamental. I always say supplements should be supplemental. They're supplemental, getting you where you need to go.   But nutrition is the foundation, the building blocks the road, right? It's paving the way to health.   Laura Dugger: (24:17 - 24:40) Okay, that is so well said. But then I'm even thinking, what are some examples of you've talked about the egg and the chicken and asparagus. So, will you share maybe we'll start here a way to get our kids involved.   I know you've shared something that you do with the farmer's market. Can you tell us that story? And then maybe give a few ideas for healthy snacks or meals.   Emily Johnson: (24:41 - 31:13) Yeah. And I do like Instagram, my website, I have I feel like I have lots of information. And honestly, maybe I could even share with you some of the handouts that I give and you could just put it in people are welcome to have them.   Because I love getting kids involved. It depends on your kiddos age depends on how you want to approach this potentially, right. So, when my kids were super little, we all we did a lot of rainbows, like, are we eating the rainbow?   And so, you know, we'd have like, I have a chart that we laminated. And you know, we'd be like, okay, here's your day how you know, maybe you get a sticker at the end of the day or something if you ate the rainbow. And so, that would be for younger kids.   That's super fun. Sometimes for older kids, kind of that who need to say like, high school necessarily, but when they're kind of in the like, end of elementary, maybe junior high ish, depending on how they're wired, and depending on parenting skills, I will have some other ones that are like, if you eat protein, fat and carb, now you can have maybe another choice that you would like, right. So, for my daughter, that might look like you need protein carbs, you know, like, let's say you're going to have protein, which is, again, I have some great handouts that are like, here's kind of a chunk of protein, right.   So, that might look like steak, eggs, or chicken, or ground beef, or, you know, bison patty, or we actually love Force of Nature, they make a really great ancestral blend. So, you're getting like liver, heart, all that stuff, and it's ground in ground beef. So, your kids don't necessarily know they're eating organ meats, but we'll do like little patties or something, right, keep it simple.   I feel like some of the most challenging things with nutrition is people want to really overcomplicate it. And if you're just thinking protein, animal protein, you get one of those, right, you grab on to like, maybe it's like, okay, now you need some salad, which is going to be, you know, maybe some less of good carbs, because you're throwing in zucchini and cucumber, and you're making a green salad, you know, with a few nuts in it, you know, and drizzling some olive oil on it. homemade dressings, I think are probably the probably the most complicated thing that I get to, just because it's easier to leave out all the bad ingredients in homemade dressing.   But there's some decent dressings out there, right? So, that's your fat. So, you do all that.   And then I'm like, now, if you want, like, maybe we'll have little snacks around the house that might be like, some healthy chocolate versions, right? And it's like, now, if you want a treat, you can, but you have to eat protein, carb and fat first, right? That type of thing.   So, there's different checklists, different things that you can do. We years ago, when my kids were super little, we actually started a list. And there, I think Dr. Walls is the one I originally got this from where she was like, you need to eat close to 300 different varieties within a year, right?   Because, again, kind of thinking back before refrigeration, before we were able to cart food places, we would have eaten a variety based on what was local to you that was growing in this season. Rright, which meant we didn't eat the same thing every single week, we had a lot of variety, I think diversity within the diet is also so important. Again, I think it's a further down the road, right? So, if you're like just starting in this journey, just getting yourself to whole foods is a great place to start.   If you're further along, the next thing we do is diversity, how many different foods. So, our goal one year was to get 300 different varieties, which doesn't sound like a lot until you actually start writing it down. We're like, cucumbers one. Okay, we eat a lot of cucumber, right?   Okay, tomatoes. Okay, well, that's two, right. And then so, one of the things that we had done when they were little was, we would go to the farmer's market.   And we would kind of think, our area and I think a lot of areas are really increasing in kind of this idea of farmers market's over the last few years, which is really cool. My kids were really little, we had one farmer's market, like, and so, we would go there once a week. They had to pick out one new vegetable or fruit that they had never tried before, whatever it looks like, right. And if they could get it on a color of the rainbow that was hard to consume, right, there's some colors of the rainbow, like purple, that's not always super easy to necessarily consume outside of grapes, you know, or any plant.   And they're like, Okay, what other purple options are there. And so, if you could find purple cauliflower, right, then that was like, the best thing because you found a color and a new food, maybe that we hadn't tried. Purple potatoes, right, if you could try even if it was like a food that we already had tried, but it was a different color of that food, right carrots, different things like that, that you could have different varieties of color, then that would count as well.   So, that was kind of one way that we and it's works outside of farmers markets are just going to the grocery store going to a different grocery store. And looking Is there anything in the produce section that we haven't tried before. It can be a good place start sometimes you have to like Google what in the world it is. How you write that was like our, we started off like I remember googling, how do you cut a mango, like I didn't even like I did not grow up eating this way. And so, everything was very new.   I didn't know how to eat anything but iceberg lettuce or canned corn as a vegetable. And, you know, learning and so, again, bite sized pieces, right? Easy plus one, my kids do classical, we do a classical model for education.   And I love one of the things they had done when they were little. In their writing was an idea of easy plus one. And I feel like this always applies to almost everything in life.   But nutrition is one of those where I'm like, don't get overwhelmed. Because it took me and my family years to get to where we are. It wasn't like an overnight thing, right?   It's been a 13-year journey for us, which sounds like a lot when you actually like look at what we eat. And you're like, it took us 13 years to change out things. And it's always evolving, because my kids are older.   So, now they're aware of things they weren't aware of when they were little. But easy plus one, right? What do we already have, swap it out for something new.   It doesn't have to be overwhelming.   Laura Dugger: (31:15 - 33:12) I love that easy plus one. And I'm even thinking of all these fresh ideas of how I plan to incorporate this into our homeschool because some of our daughters are interested in going on with culinary arts, and they love being in the kitchen. So, I think that's a great way to involve them.   By now, I hope you've checked out our updated website, thesavvysauce.com so that you can have access to all the additional freebies we are offering, including all of our previous articles, and all of our previous episodes, which now include transcriptions. You will be equipped to have your own practical chats for intentional living when you read all the recommended questions in the articles or gain insight from expert guests and past episodes as you read through the transcriptions. Because many people have shared with us that they want to take notes on previous episodes, or maybe their spouse prefers to read our conversations rather than listen to them or watch them now that we're offering video rather than just audio.   So, we heard all of that. And we now have provided transcripts for all our episodes. Just visit thesavvysauce.com.   All of this is conveniently located under the tab show notes on our website. Happy reading.   But as you're talking about swaps, this is just kind of my personal journey this year.   I feel like God doesn't always give me a word of the year. But this year, I felt like he gave the word nourish, and even added to that as the year went on, nourishing and flourishing. And food is a big piece of that.   But also just tied in with all of this and helping our kids grow up in a healthy environment. What are some other product swaps that would be helpful for things that we're putting on our body, maybe makeup if they're older, or laundry detergent and different things like that.   Emily Johnson: (33:13 - 36:27) Yeah, I would say we I always feel like my encouragement is to start with what goes on your body. Right, sometimes and again, there's always grace. So, sometimes it's like just stop burning the candle in your house.   That's creating actually more toxins, it smells nice. So, anything that smells like fake fragrance is probably not going to be helpful to your system. But I would say that my next favorite is what are we putting on our body?   So, that's shampoos, conditioner, deodorant, lotions, makeup, laundry detergent, right, anything that would be like touching our skin, then the next thing out of that would be, I think there's a lot of fascinating information that has surfaced the last five years of just the importance of undergarments and what it does to the endocrine system. When we're not, you know, putting natural fibers on our skin, we're putting all these synthetic fibers. So, again, it's not like you can financially most of us go out and swap out everything.   And sometimes I still, like my girlfriend, I was just talking like, I kind of miss Tide. I miss the smell of Tide deodorant. Like I haven't used it for years.   But I still like there's something like emotional pride just from childhood that like just feels clean. Even though I know right that it's not. But when you look at all these different chemicals on the body, so, again, when we talk about stress, when we talk about nourishing, right, anything extra that goes on your skin absorbs, right, we forget that it's the largest organ of our body.   And it is absorbing all sorts of chemicals and endocrine disruptors, and creating more stress on our bodies, right, clogging our pores. When you think of that the lymphatic system, the lymphatic system is a huge system within the body that will push toxins around and help drain the body of kind of this overburden of toxic waste. And one of the biggest places, well, the biggest places for lymphatic movement is around your armpits, right?   And what do we do, we put on deodorant, which actually then doesn't allow our arms to sweat and to get that toxin out. And the next part is around the groin. And it's like, okay, what are you putting around the groin?   Are you putting synthetic fibers? Are you putting plastics? Are you putting things, toxins within your laundry detergent, right, that is then creating a disruption, right, the body's trying to release toxins.   And now you're either not letting it sweat it out, or you're actually putting other chemicals in those places where it's going to absorb even more, and make that lymphatic system even more backed up. So, I would say, a home like cleaning supplies and candles and fragrances, those are all really important. But again, if we're starting with absolutely ground zero, I tend to go what's on your skin first, what's touching your skin, moving away from that stuff is super helpful.   There's so many different apps, you know, I we started with, you know, the IW or the Oh, my goodness, I totally blanked on what that is called. The app. Oh, my goodness.   Oh, well, it'll come back.   Laura Dugger: (36:27 - 36:59) Maybe say more about I wonder if one that I've started with a girlfriend of mine, Rachel Allen, actually, her husband was a previous guest on The Savvy Sauce, Chris Allen, but she's very healthy and has been on this health journey for a while. And she showed me the Yuka app, the YUKA, which is great. It's she said, it's not perfect.   It's just helpful. It doesn't tell you if there's seed oils in food. So, that's a bummer.   But with products, if I am out shopping, and I scan a few, it'll tell which is a better option.   Emily Johnson: (37:00 - 37:56) Yeah, so, that's a good one. IWD was the one that we originally started with, you know, 10 years ago. And so, that can be helpful when you just don't know, right?   And you're in the store. And you're like, I always buy this, you know, and you kind of scan it and see what pops up. But that can be helpful.   But I would say in general, again, looking at just reading ingredients, if you can understand the ingredients, and you're like, oh, this is beef tallow, and, you know, some essential oils, and baking soda, right? Like, that's probably okay, you know, versus the like, I don't know these ingredients. These are a long list of ingredients.   And I have no idea how to even pronounce them. So, apps can be helpful. My preference is to encourage us as much as we can, right, to get away from electronics.   And I think that sometimes it's hard when we're like, so, scanning apps can be helpful. But also, just reading ingredients can be helpful.   Laura Dugger: (37:59 - 38:12) That's great. And again, just to kind of jumpstart us, do you have any favorite brands to recommend? Or even on your website?   Is there a place where you talk about swaps that we can link to?   Emily Johnson: (38:13 - 39:44) Yeah, so, on my website, and I'm constantly trying to update this, as best I can, because again, a lot of this started for me almost 13 years ago. And so, so much has changed in 13 years. So, I'm constantly trying to stay up with the new things, because we all know that anytime something becomes a buzzword, all of a sudden, all these companies jump out of the blue.   We're in the world of the and are they good, you know, and so, being able to kind of, obviously, now, there's so much more happening so quickly. So, on my website, I have a blog post that's just like getting started. And that I just keep trying to add to it.   I find books or information or podcasts that I think are helpful in this realm. It kind of breaks it down. Do you want to read a book?   Do you want to listen to a podcast? Do you want to me and some of my girlfriends did like a whole series on different parts of the body and just different things. And like, that's all links there.   So, just whether you want to watch something, read something, listen to something, there's lots of information there. And then on my website, I have lots of different like my favorite things. And those are just some of my favorite products.   There's great products out there just because it's on not on there doesn't mean it's not great. But there's a lot of products that I really used to love, and that they don't make the products either the same that they used to or they have disbanded over the years, right. And so, just because it's not on there doesn't mean it's still a lot of great products.   But I try to update that if I find something I really love, I will try to update those two spots on my website.   Laura Dugger: (39:45 - 39:56) Well, definitely want to link to that in the show notes. But can you give us your website name and just tell more about in general all the work that you do and what you have to offer if we want to follow up after this conversation?   Emily Johnson: (39:56 - 41:56) Yeah, so, my website is mygracioushealing.com. Between my website, I have an email list. But then I also do a lot on social media, Instagram specifically.   So, my handle over there is gracious.healing. Try just to give lots of tips and lots of trying to reclaim some of that social media space to let it be more encouraging and not fear based. But hopefully, try to kind of clue people in on just things that I'm learning and things I see in my clients. I do have a one-on-one practice called gracious healing.   And it is we just work bio individual with, I started off with children, and then I've obviously moved to moms. And now I'm kind of treating most whole families. But I love working with families just because it's sometimes easier because you already know so much history and everything.   But our goal in doing one-on-one nutrition clients is we're looking at lifestyle history, symptoms, we're looking at personality, we're looking at all the ways God created you, and where is their dysfunction on labs? Or, again, we're not thriving, right? Someone might be tired, but what does that mean?   Is it a soul issue, a heart issue, a mental issue? Is it you're not getting enough rest? Do you need more nutrition, that kind of stuff.   So, we look at all of that, and really holistically, and then we break down a road plan, how are we going to get you there, you're in the driver's seat, I'm just trying to help you navigate what nutrition might you need, what kind of steps might you need, in terms of supplementation, diet recommendations, lifestyle pieces. And we kind of address all of that with kind of a game plan of follow ups and what that looks like. My goal is for people to not need me forever.   So, our goal is to help as much as clients want to be discipled and learn all of this, so that then they can get to where they feel they're truly thriving, and then they can run off into the world that God has for them.   Laura Dugger: (41:56 - 42:24) I love that. Thank you for sharing that. And I will definitely link to that in the show notes.   And I just have a couple more questions for you, because I want to make sure, even as you talk about meeting with your clients, and it's very bio individual. So, maybe there's not an answer to this. But is there anything in general, any other health principles or even supplements that you do see, generally speaking, this would be beneficial to everyone?   Anything that we haven't covered yet?   Emily Johnson: (42:25 - 45:21) Yeah, so, I'd say at this point, the only two supplement companies that I feel like can be pretty helpful for most people. One is called Core Formulas. They are just kind of basic, like nothing they're doing is crazy detox, nothing they're doing is like killing anything.   They're just really supporting the body from a nutritional standpoint. So, you're thinking drainage, gut support, and vitamin support. So, they're pretty basic companies, like most people kind of look on their website, determine if that's something that would be helpful for them.   And then the other one would be body bio. So, BodyBio is a great company that focuses specifically on cellular health. And so, you're going to have electrolytes, you're going to have some good kind of fatty acids, right?   When we look at the cell, we need four to one omega six to omega three, a lot of us focus on omega three, because they're just aren't great sources for omega six. And so, they make some really great companies that really look at the cellular level, the mitochondria level, being able their products are really based on that you're not going to have again, crazy detox supplements. So, most people can tolerate at least to a small degree, I always say it's individual, you should always kind of look at who you are, what you have, what your goals are.   Because again, sometimes I think we hear things and we're like, oh, this is the roadmap, I need to detox, I need to liver do a liver blast, I need to do all these things. And that may not be true, right. And so, the ability in this day and age to just be able to chew and spit right, like what information is helpful, spit out what's not, and then maybe tuck away in my brain what might be helpful down the road.   Yeah, I think that those companies are the only companies I ever feel confident being like, most people would benefit from kind of playing around with those products. Yep, I don't think I think everything we talked about just feels super fundamental and foundational. I think encouraging people to really know where they're not thriving and to be really honest and raw with themselves as to what they are, what God has for them and where they're maybe not stewarding or operating fully right with the knowledge they have in those places. I think can be really helpful.   It's kind of like going on a trip without a destination, right? Like you're just kind of wandering. And I feel like this stuff is so beautiful and so wonderful to incorporate in our lives.   But if we don't actually have a picture of what we're trying to achieve in the process, I feel like we kind of just get tossed around. And so, while this stuff is all wonderful and the nutrition and focusing on I think if we don't really know where we're trying to go with it, then it can just get really muddied.   Laura Dugger: (45:22 - 46:11) I think that's so good to talk about purpose and be aware. And I love this conversation how you've incorporated for us as the parent, but also for our children. And I will link to one other episode as well with Dr. Charles Fay, where he talks about raising emotionally healthy and mentally healthy children. He wrote a book with Dr. Amen. And in the episode, he just talked about instilling purpose in our children and talking about that, because God does have a purpose for them as well. And so, I love how you're bringing all of this back as you've done so well shining your faith throughout this conversation.   But Emily, you know, we are called The Savvy Sauce, because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so, as my final question for you today, what is your savvy sauce?   Emily Johnson: (46:13 - 46:57) Yeah, you I knew this question was coming. And honestly, I was like, how do I pick just one? So, I think this is what I'm going to say.   Discipline equals freedom. And I have just found for me that kind of that savvy sauce, and it may change that discipline may change over a period of time. But if I can get real honest with what I need to be disciplined in in the moment, it gives me so much freedom for the rest of my day.   And so, being disciplined it used to feel constraining. And now it actually feels like, I don't have to think about right. Decision fatigue is a real thing.   And so, if I can just be disciplined, there's so much freedom that happens in my day with that.   Laura Dugger: (46:57 - 47:32) Wow, I love that so much. And I love how self-control I think of self-discipline as a fruit of the spirit. And that's what I've experienced.   You've cultivated that fruit in your life. And we've gotten to experience the good sweet fruit in this conversation and the abundant life that you're living in the overflow. So, thank you for walking this journey while stewarding all of this well and sharing so generously with each of us.   You are just a delight to spend time with. So, thank you for being my guest.   Emily Johnson: (47:32 - 47:35) Yes, thank you. Oh my goodness, such kind words.   Laura Dugger: (47:36 – 51:19) One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior, but God loved us so much. He made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life. We could never live and died in our place for our sin.   This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished. If we choose to receive what he has done for us, Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”   So, you pray with me now. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you.   Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus name we pray.   Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me. So, me for him, you get the opportunity to live your life for him.   And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you're ready to get started.   First, tell someone, say it out loud, get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes and Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it.   You can start by reading the book of John. Also get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.   We want to celebrate with you too. So, feel free to leave a comment for us here. If you did make a decision to follow Christ, we also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

Mark 2:27 NIV "Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."   *DISCLAIMER* This episode contains adult themes and is not intended for little ears.   *Transcription Below*   Emily MacLeod-Wolfe is a Nurse Practitioner wellness professional with a passion for helping individuals achieve their health goals in a holistic and practical way.   With 5 years of invaluable experience in the field, Emily has developed a deep understanding of the importance of a balanced lifestyle for a vibrant life.   Emily firmly believes in treating the whole person, not just the symptoms, and takes a comprehensive approach to healthcare. She learned these from her own personal experience of dealing with Hashitmotos thyroiditis and eczema and found the root causes to treat them naturally. She is passionate to help others with the personal knowledge and health freedom she has received.   By combining her medical expertise with a focus on nutrition, exercise, and mindfulness, she empowers her clients to take control of their health and make sustainable lifestyle changes.   With a warm and empathetic demeanor, Emily creates a safe and supportive environment where clients feel heard and understood. She works closely with each individual to develop personalized wellness plans that are tailored to their unique needs and circumstances. Whether you're looking to improve your physical fitness, manage stress, or simply lead a healthier life, Emily is dedicated to guiding, encouraging & supporting you on your wellness journey.   Emily's Website   Questions and Topics We Cover: Will you give us an intro lesson for hormones 101? Is it normal to have really painful and heavy menstrual cycles or is that an indicator that something is not right? What are the best practices you recommend for women to support healthy hormones and healthy adrenals in their body all month long?   Thank you to our sponsor: Leman Property Management   Episode Mentioned Today: 256 Gut Health, Allergies, Inflammation and Proactive Solutions with Emily Macleod-Wolfe   Other Related Episodes on The Savvy Sauce Podcast: 81. Sacred Rest with Doctor, Wife, Mother, and Author, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith 167. Pursuing Health in Four Key Areas with Debra Fileta 205. Power of Movement with Alisa Keeton (Revelation Wellness) Hormones and Simple Changes to Feel SO Much Better with Functional Medicine Expert, Dr. Jill Carnahan Practicing Sabbath with Shireen Eldridge Special Patreon Re-release: Out of the Box Stress Relievers to Apply Today with Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith 215 Enriching Women's Sexual Function, Part One with Dr. Kris Christiansen 216 Enriching Women's Sexual Function, Part Two with Dr. Kris Christiansen 217 Tween/Teen Females: How to Navigate Changes during Puberty with Dr. Jennifer Degler   Connect with us through The Savvy Sauce Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:12)   Laura Dugger: (0:12 - 1:29)  Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.    Today's message is not intended for little ears. We'll be discussing some adult themes, and I want you to be aware before you listen to this message.    Leman Property Management Company has the apartment you will be able to call home, with over 1,700 apartment units available in central Illinois. Visit them today at lemanproperties.com, or connect with them on Facebook.    Emily McLeod-Wolfe is my returning guest for today. Last time we talked about everything related to gut health, and I'll make sure to link that episode in the show notes for today's episode. I would highly recommend that you begin there, because there's a lot of overlap with solutions, as then we transition today into our topic about female hormones, the menstruation cycle, and how to make everything better, and even end up grateful to God for our female cycle.   Here's our chat. Welcome back to The Savvy Sauce, Emily.   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (1:30 - 1:34) Thank you so much for having me again, Laura. I'm so excited about this section.   Laura Dugger: (1:35 - 1:40) Yes, can you just give us a brief reminder of the work that you get to do before we dive in?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (1:41 - 2:08) Yes. I am a holistic nurse practitioner. I was trained traditionally in traditional medicine at Vanderbilt, and then I went on to do ... Well, from my own personal health journey, I knew I wanted to do more holistic medicine, so I went on and did functional medicine, natural medicine training, so, now I have a practice called Pure Integrative Health, which is to blend the best of both worlds, and to basically to root cause medicine.   Laura Dugger: (2:08 - 2:19) Well, and we covered all things gut health last time, but I've been so excited to interview you about hormones, so as best as you can, could you just give us Hormones 101?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (2:21 - 3:02)  Yeah, yeah. And first of all, if you didn't hear the last episode, I would recommend go back to listen to the previous one, because the gut health is the precursor that builds to the hormones, and I don't recommend even trying to address the hormones unless you've got some of the gut healing going, because they are so interconnected, even in the way in which we don't want to be recycling hormones, so constipation is causing an excess hormone recycling that should not be happening. So, again, healthy gut health is going to help the hormones, but yes. So, for women, or for men, or what hormones would you like me to describe?   Laura Dugger: (3:02 - 3:11) I think we're just going to focus on women's hormones today, because I want to get more into our cycle as well.    Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (3:11 - 10:59) Oh, great question. Yeah. Okay. So, for women, we have the sex hormones, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, not nearly as high levels of testosterone as men, they can be highly driven off of it. If the testosterone is too high in women, then we look at things like PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome, excess androgen, so it could be like abnormal hair growth, extra oily skin, acne, those are some signs of like maybe high testosterone, but also could be from high cortisol, which is the stress hormone that's made in the adrenal glands that sits on top of the kidneys and produces stress hormone.   Now we'll explain how the adrenals and the stress hormone cortisol affect some of the sex hormones, but those ones, and then there's one called DHEA, and that is the precursor hormone to testosterone. So, we've got estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, pregnenolone is like the master hormone in which all the hormones can be made out of, and the cholesterol actually funnels into pregnenolone. So, our cholesterol is necessary, we do need good cholesterol to help all the hormones, so, yes, that's why good healthy fats and things like that are really helpful, like olive oil and avocado and baking, broiling and grilling things and all of that, the cholesterol, pregnenolone master hormone, we got DHEA, which is the precursor to testosterone.   And then testosterone can be the hormone that converts into estrogen, so, they're all connected, they're all very connected, so excess estrogen could be from too high testosterone. Anyhow, they're all over the place sometimes for women, and they do fluctuate just even within 28 days, so I'll kind of explain that, and then we can kind of go from there. So, we talked about cortisol, there's a lot of other hormones, but I was just telling you about the sex hormones, so that's necessary to understand a cycle of a woman.   So, when we start cycling, and then we have a couple different phases, we have the follicular phase, which is the first, day one is the day you start bleeding, and then day 14 is typically the day that we ovulate. So, day one, we have, estrogen starts to increase, we've kind of bottomed out, usually on our cycle, most women feel a little bit lower energy, I mean, we're bleeding and menstruating, and so some women lose a lot of iron, and ferritin levels can go down a lot during that, so we want to eat very iron-rich, lots of leafy greens, vegetables, good healthy fats to support. I kind of describe each week of our cycle, almost like a season, it's like winter is the first seven days of the bleeding, and then we've got spring, but then we start to feel really good, and everything is good, and then we've got summer, and we're doing great, and then we've got fall, and so we can kind of eat accordingly to, almost seasonally for the hormones, too.   So, we've got the first seven days, lower energy, because estrogen and progesterone are pretty bottomed out, but they start to gradually increase. Now estrogen really starts to increase, and then right around day 14, it comes down, and then progesterone takes over, and so right there is the ovulation, and that's where the ovaries will release an egg, and has the opportunity to be fertilized or not in the middle of the month, and it all very much interconnects with our moods and how we're feeling, and people have heard of PMS, premenstrual syndrome, you felt the hormonal changes and all of that, but there's definitely ways that we can kind of mitigate the extreme highs and lows, like some people deal with depression-like feelings and really big mood swings, we can work on leveling those things more so that they're not so drastic through certain things I'll describe, but anyhow, we've got follicular phase, estrogen, we've got the luteal phase, we've got ovulation, then we've got the luteal phase is where progesterone is really increasing and decreasing, and that's days 14 to 28 of the cycle. So, we've got first phase and second phase. And two, we can break it down even more to four weeks.    We've got like the first week, lower energy, but that's like, you can even connect it to emotions and how, like, maximizing efficiency for work based off of your cycle. Because even, you're not supposed to make a really big life decision during the menstruating week, because that's just low energy and all that. But it's a good time to dream, brainstorm, hopefully you're taking time to rest, take care of your body, have some salt baths, rich in magnesium, eating those good foods, giving nutrients, if your body needs, you get your iron levels checked and your ferritin levels. Your practitioner might give you an iron supplement that you're kind of taking in conjunction, depending on that. And so, we're resting and resetting and having time to journal, dream, and brainstorm things for the, you know, hopefully the next and then the next week, the estrogen is coming up a lot, and starting to feel back to normal self, usually really good and feeling that surge, the mood starts to get better, it's a great time to start to do like some good heavy weightlifting and exercise can even be based around cycle two. For menstruation, you're probably going to want to do a little bit more lower impact and walking and stretching, Pilates, things like that. And then a bar and all that and then weightlifting that second week is great.   And then also, that's around ovulation is that's where we feel more loving and affectionate and different things and the way that God designed our body literally to want to be with a man around that time. And that's procreation time. And then right around the after ovulation, that third week, and fourth week can start to get challenging because that's where well, sometimes that third week is a good, sweet spot.   But the fourth week, the week before the period. Yeah, like that day is 19 to 21. And then like after that, that's where some mood swings can start to happen.   And the estrogens come down a lot progesterone depending on where the bodies at. Most women are deficient in progesterone overall. So, if it's already decreasing, it was a peak in the third week, and then it's decreasing, going towards menstruating again, then it's a recipe for not sleeping great mood swings, irritability, bloating, breast tenderness, that can be estrogen imbalances, excess estrogen, low progesterone like symptoms.   And then yeah, that was a lot.   Laura Dugger: (10:59 - 11:20) That's so helpful. I want right before we move on, because I want to hear how to mitigate some of those symptoms. But first, you mentioned eating seasonally, even each week. So, is that what you're saying that we eat more of those winter foods, that day one to seven? And could you give an example for each phase?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (11:21 - 14:19) One example, Sweet potato, you know, like the foods that you would find more in the winter. So, you're kind of doing like sweet potatoes.   And like I said, the fatty food, like a healthy fat Mediterranean, definitely right around the cycle. Body craves, if you find yourself craving chocolate, it's probably because your body's deficient in magnesium. Most of us are.   So, some women will use it as an excuse to have chocolate, guilty as charged. But actually, it's magnesium deficiency, but chocolate has magnesium in it. So, if you get a rich, like dark chocolate, if you're not sensitive to chocolate, and you can do one that's a really dark and, and doesn't have a ton of sugar, then that could be a good source.   But just foods rich in magnesium, dark leafy greens, avocados, nuts, and really checking levels and magnesium, Epsom salt baths, things like that, that's going to be great. You're going to want to do that also kind of the week before the period to in the fall like food. So, you know, like the, the squashes, and you kind of like the baked vegetables and, and protein and, and then like in the spring, like the week after, then maybe you're doing more like, you know, berries and, and, you know, things that you would have in this in the springtime and summer, different types of meat that you would like lean chicken and turkey. Then harvest like food for that week before the period to give you good. There's something called seed cycling. So, the pumpkin seeds and well, sesame and sunflower are for days 14 to 28 of the cycle.   So, the second half that gives the body the micronutrients needed to help support progesterone and then pumpkin and wow, I'm really blanking probably because I need to eat lunch. But we can come back well it's going to come back to me the pumpkin and the is it chia? No, flax.   Flax. Okay, flax seed. Pumpkin and flax for days one, the day we start bleeding to ovulation day 14, and then sesame and sunflower days 14 to 28.   So, like adding those into smoothies, handful of nuts, nut butter, sunflower seed butter, you know, those kinds of things. Those that can also kind of support the cycle naturally and give the body the nutrients that are needed to support the body like that.   Laura Dugger: (14:19 - 14:37) Okay. I have heard about seed cycling before. It kind of ties into the other question I had. I wondered if it's normal to have really painful and heavy menstrual cycles? Or is that an indicator that something's not right and maybe we need to bring in something like seed cycling?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (14:39 - 18:15) Yes, painful, heavy menstruation. That's not normal. I personally have dealt with them.   So, I understand they're awful and they can leave some women, you know, nauseous, throwing up, vomiting, breast tenderness. Now, that signs of excess estrogen that likely needs to be detoxed. And I would recommend going to a holistic practitioner and asking them to do a saliva hormone testing panel.   Actually, we have no, I don't have it with me right now. But it's basically these vials of saliva that you spit right when you wake up, lunchtime, dinnertime, bedtime, and it'll check sex hormones between days 19 to 21 of the cycle. We're checking peak progesterone time so we can look at the most accurate depiction if you're cycling.   It's still possible to do it if you're postmenopausal and want to do the test, we could do it at any time. But it's a saliva hormone test is the most accurate way to measure hormones and see exactly what's going on. We can check blood work, but it's just like a little shot in the dark. But the saliva is the more accurate picture of what's going on.   So, I would recommend if you're having really heavy menstrual cycle, yes, you can try the seed cycling to start. That's harmless to try. But there might be more things going on that really need to be seen by a practitioner to help either support what hormone is low or detox another hormone that is excess.   Now, we are overall in our society getting a lot of excess estrogen. And that can be through plastics, we get a lot like trying to switch even just a bottle as I'm drinking through. We don't want to try and drink as much plastic out of plastic, we want to do like glass water bottles.   And like stainless steel water bottles better. Unless you're in a crazy rush and you forgot to bring one is better drink some water than no water. We've got to stay hydrated to have healthy bowel movements to have energy to our cells, all of that good water filter that filters out fluoride, chlorine, those things will affect the thyroid very much so. Thyroid hormones affect sex hormones and etc.   So, we want to get a good filter for the water so that we don't have to deal with the after effects of thyroid imbalances or if you're already dealing with thyroid imbalances. I understand because I've dealt with that myself. And so, we want to remove as many stressors because the thyroid needs iodine just to function.   And if we're getting fluoride and chlorine, those particular elements compete for iodine in the body. So, we got to get those out as best as we can get rid of excess estrogen. Through plastics, chemicals and detergents, like all of the chemicals that are exposed in detergents and cleaning products. As much as we can clean those up as well, it's going to be very, very helpful for thyroid, very helpful for sex hormones.   Laura Dugger: (18:16 - 18:26) Oh, that's interesting. So, those I don't even think of that are like store brand names for detergents that those could be endocrine disruptors, you're saying?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (18:26 - 18:45) That's great. Yes. So, endocrine disruptors are things that are going to cause imbalances to the thyroid, the sex hormones, or any of their other hormones in the body. Yes. So, we definitely want to try and stay away from those things.   Laura Dugger: (18:46 - 21:10) Let's take a quick break to hear a message from our sponsor.    With over 1,700 apartment units available throughout Pekin, Peoria, Peoria Heights, Morton, Washington, and Canton, and with every price range covered, you will have plenty of options when you rent through Leman Property Management Company. 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If you want to become a part of their team, contact them about open office positions. They're also hiring in their maintenance department, so we invite you to find out why so many people have chosen to make a career with them.   Check them out on Facebook today or email their friendly staff at leasing at lemanprops.com. You can also stop by their website at lemanproperties.com. That's L-E-M-A-N properties dot com. Check them out and find your place to call home today.    Okay, so I'm even thinking, so females my age or friends or older or younger women listening, even we have four daughters and so as they grow and mature, all of this is helpful. I'm assuming to start at a young age with getting rid of some of those toxins or not microwaving food on plastic plates, but then also you said detox. Is that through hydration or did you mean something else with detoxification?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (21:11 - 22:47) I can't get into this unless I saw somebody as a patient because I can't give across the board recommendation for this, but I will say because there are certain supplements and things that might be needed. Say there's excess estrogen in the body, there might be supplements that that person needs to help bring down those excess estrogen levels aside from food. But one thing that I do know that you can eat that helps overall is the more that you love and detoxify the liver. It's what has to process all the hormones.   One thing is broccoli sprouts, not broccoli, broccoli sprouts. So, you know, micro green sprouts, those ones, the broccoli sprouts are incredible at helping getting rid of the bad kinds of estrogen, detox those out of the body. So, that's really good.   Cruciferous vegetables, cooking your cruciferous vegetables though, because if you eat them raw, it can affect the thyroid negatively. So, it's best to, it could cause goiters and so we don't want that. It can be goitrogenic essentially.   So, we don't want that, but you could bake. I mean, you could cook cruciferous vegetables, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, etc., those cruciferous vegetables, spinach, all that. And those are great also for that. So, that can help.   The best one is the broccoli sprouts. Yes. And then getting saliva hormone testing done and seeing exactly where your body is at.   Laura Dugger: (22:48 - 22:53) Okay. Cause I'm wondering then could that even be a mineral deficiency when you're talking about supplements?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (22:55 - 27:11) Yeah, there definitely can be mineral deficiencies. It just, like I said, I've seen a lot of different variations, right? Excess estrogen, low progesterone, low menopausal, low everything.   Once the hormones bottom out, then they're kind of low across the board and the body might need bioidentical hormones to have extra support. It's cardioprotective, protective against cancers, protective for the bones, different things like that. Bioidentical is different than synthetic.   Synthetic hormones is like birth control, but synthetic hormones can, go see the last episode when we talk about leaky gut intestinal permeability, but the birth control can actually cause intestinal permeability too. So, that's a problem. Leaky gut can be from birth control, the synthetic birth control, and then the body's not even able to ovulate.   It's not able to release. There's just like the, the way that God designed it is we're actually, if you allow it to look at it as like a cleansing and a purging every month, that spiritually the Lord, if we allow the Lord, we don't have to dread it. It's so common in society to dread a period. Or, oh my gosh, again, here we go.   But how beautiful it's a celebration of the ability to give life. It's an opportunity to take some time to rest. It's a beautiful time to take some time to sit back and reflect, especially that week before the period.   Also try and not make big decisions the week before because the progesterone's bottomed out causing mood swings and then making decisions is going to be a lot more stressful and can lighten load and work a little bit that week before, a few days prior to your period. That would be very helpful. Stress levels really impact the cycle and also just trying to prepare the body for going through perimenopause and then menopause.   Wherever you're at in your health journey, life journey, it's, it's just so good to educate younger women to be really taking care of their adrenals, which is this, you know, the organ that produces stress hormone because high cortisol, which is the stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands, zaps progesterone and most women, that's probably why I see a lot of progesterone dipping so quickly. You need progesterone to have a healthy pregnancy. So, we're seeing a lot more miscarriages and infertility problems could be from low progesterone.   And, um, and then that will eventually bottom out with menopause because the ovaries are not producing it anymore. And the only place that we have progesterone left in reserves is in the adrenal glands. And so, if the stress has been going on for so long, then even the reserves of the backups of the backups are gone, the progesterone, which is why I see a lot of women going through a more extreme version of menopause than with the night sweats and the hot flashes and all those things that maybe didn't even have to happen.   Because, uh, if we take care of it on, on the earlier end of managing stress levels, going to bed at good times, getting full amount of sleep, women need eight to 10 hours of sleep. We will, I will just go ahead and say that because our hormones are very independent, dependent on our adrenal function. Men, they don't really have to rely on their adrenals as much as their other, other sex hormones and locations.   Um, so they don't have to deal with it as much as the women. So, we're constantly tied to a function of our adrenals really affects our sex hormones like crazy. And we're not getting the right amount of sleep.   Then we're going to have high stress levels, high cortisol, and then the high cortisol is where it is at the sex hormones. So, we need those reserves to be replenished and the, and the cortisol levels drop and melatonin kicks in and we're going to sleep so much better and sleep so much deeper.   Laura Dugger: (27:12 - 27:36) Wow. This is fascinating. And I love how you're even celebrating the cycle and how God created it because I'm forgetting one of them, but I heard that menstrual blood was tested, and they saw that it was detoxifying plastics and pesticides. And there was one other thing that the body was using to eliminate. And so that's a reminder just to be grateful for that too.   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (27:36 - 29:08) And, uh, the birth control pill, it's a temporary fix. There are alternative forms of birth control that do not have the synthetic hormones that are good, good options, you know, and the synthetic hormones though, I've firsthand seen it with patients negatively impact the thyroid. And a lot of them have had to end up on thyroid medication just simply due to years and years of birth control and it impacting the thyroid and the cellular health as well as the lining of the gut and a lot of other side effects that I'm not a weight gain, different things.   And then the body not even being able to menstruate and fully excrete things. And, um, or even, you know, the, the cycle is an indicator, I think for women very much of like your monthly health, like how, how am I doing? Like if I'm having a really bad period, um, likely it was something that I had done this past month.   Okay. Did I eat right? Was I sleeping?   Was I incredibly stressed? Usually, you can trace it back to that. Now there's obviously other cases where, you know, PCOS and ruptured ovaries and different things like that, or ruptured cysts on the ovaries, sorry.   Um, then that can contribute to longer term diseases, but on a, it's almost like a litmus test to see how, how our bodies are doing.   Laura Dugger: (29:09 - 29:27) I like that perspective. And Emily, you're so great at giving proactive tips and I love easy wins. So, what are some of the best practices that you recommend for women to support healthy hormones and healthy adrenals in our bodies all month long?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (29:30 - 33:32) One is glucose management. So, protein, I cannot emphasize it enough protein sources, um, you know, good, healthy, as much as you can, grass fed organic meat. So, you're not getting the synthetic hormones from them because who knows what they're being fed and what they're being pumped with, but those sources, um, protein, other sources of protein, um, that's going to give you up to 15 hours of energy.   So, that is incredible. As far as eating for energy, I will say, if you can do that, that's, um, it's incredible. It's a game changer, eating for energy, protein, vegetables give us up to five to six hours of energy.   And then carbs, carbs give us, um, like if we had a piece of fruit, it only lasts in the system for 15 minutes. Or, um, potato chips, something like that, 15 minutes, that's not very long. And then the body says, ”I'm hungry again.” Then we ended up overeating because we just had the carbs and we're not full.   And so, that's why pairing the meals around the protein and then the fiber and then a healthy fat. Or like the protein, the fiber and a complex carb (sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa). Things like that is going to stabilize the blood sugar. So, there will not be cortisol stress levels spiked when we don't eat for too long, then it can cause the body to go into, um, stress overload. And there's four different stages of adrenal fatigue, cortisol, and that can affect the body very much.   So, spikes and crashes in glucose spike and crash the cortisol and then spikes and cortisol will steal your progesterone and then cause imbalances because progesterone keeps the estrogen in check. So, then you got estrogen and progesterone imbalances. Then there's DHEA, which is the other hormone that's made in the adrenals. So, sometimes DHEA, DHEA is incredible for building muscle, keeping muscle concentration, memory.   It's, wonderful at libido, all sorts of those things. Now, DHEA just decreases as we age. It's the precursor to testosterone as well, but it's also made in the adrenal glands.   And so, the more we can regulate cortisol and adrenal, sometimes high levels of stress, we've got to go back and think. Okay, um, we might not even feel stress, but if there's been physical abuse, emotional abuse, or sexual trauma, those are serious things that the body will hold on to. And unless you have gone to process, I recommend getting a Christian counselor and process those things because the body can literally still be holding onto it 20, 30, even 40 years, if it's not been let go and given to Jesus. And, um, so that is also a huge, we can't dismiss that or just try and fix the physical.   If there's been some stressors and the body has just been in survival mode and has to just keep going, then maybe it only knows how to live off of high cortisol stress reserves to just keep going. It doesn't, but if you have a hard time falling asleep, a hard time unwinding, feel like you're always on the go, those are like adrenal stages one and two high cortisol, but then that eventually will start to plummet. And then it's, um, you know, more difficult time getting out of bed and jumping straight out crash in the afternoon with energy crash after dinner crash before bed, um, or like wired and tired, like wired the brain's wired.   The body feels tired, but can't go to sleep. Then further stages waking up between 2:00 and 4:00 in the morning could be blood sugar, adrenal issues as well.   Laura Dugger: (33:32 - 33:41) Oh, could you speak a little bit more into that? Could be, the blood sugar related to the adrenal issues if you're waking up at that 2:00 to 4:00 AM time?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (33:42 - 34:47) Yes, it can be, the body signaling that the blood sugars drop too low. And then the cortisol has to, it can signal to the cortisol and the adrenals to spike to just keep the body going, survive. And then all of a sudden cortisol is spiking at night, which it should not, it should be done.   And melatonin should be happening at night and then cortisol in the daytime. So, if there's a cortisol spike because of a glucose crash, then, um, then we need to support it with, a spoonful of almond butter before bed, a handful of nuts, something, some protein before bed is going to, help someone, you know, in the middle of the night, stabilize the blood sugar. It can be a blood sugar issue with, cause blood sugar and cortisol are interconnected, but also should just check your cortisol levels, get a saliva test.   It's that saliva four point, um, test checks for sex hormones and cortisol, or we can.   Laura Dugger: (34:47 - 35:06) So. Okay. One more thing with that. So, then the blood sugar dropping that low, is that somebody who's maybe completing their closing, their eating window too early in the day, or they're not getting enough sugar throughout the day. Is that what you're saying with, why would it drop to that level and require cortisol?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (35:08 - 36:51) Great question. It would be, it could be the person's not eating enough throughout the day and the body just doesn't have the right. So, if the person was fasting quite frequently and doing that a lot now, everybody, everyone's body is different.   If you have adrenal imbalances, I do not recommend doing fasting because the body is already under stress and then fasting can put extra stress on the body. So then you're like, well, but then they said that if I fast and I should lose weight, and if you're fasting and you're gaining belly fat and you're gaining weight, it's a telltale sign cortisol because high cortisol level, puffy face, um, belly fat, stubborn, you can eat right exercise, try and do everything and it will not leave. That's usually survival mode. Body's trying to self-protect. Um, and so, yeah, so we don't want to be fasting very much if there's cortisol imbalances. Now, if there's not, and if you have your cortisol check, then there's great benefits to doing intermittent fasting and things.   And even biblically spiritually, there's incredible benefits to fasting. The Lord knows there's the cells literally repair themselves, regenerate and can eat up cancer cells. If we put our bodies into that ketosis state for good bit, but that is not something I would recommend doing high intensity exercise, or that's going to put a lot of cortisol stress on the body, high impact, um, or skipping a lot of meals.   So, that could be why the blood sugar is like dropping in the middle of the night.   Laura Dugger: (36:52 - 37:37) I just wanted to let you know, there are now multiple ways to give when you visit TheSavvySauce.com. We now have a donation button on our website and you can find it under the donate page, which is under the tab entitled support. Our mailing address is also provided.   If you would prefer to save us the processing fee and send a check that is tax deductible. Either way, you'll be supporting the work of Savvy Sauce Charities and helping us continue to reach the nations with the good news of Jesus Christ. Make sure you visit TheSavvySauce.com today. Thanks for your support.    Is there anything else that we haven't gotten to discuss yet that you want to make sure we don't miss out on?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (37:38 - 39:15) So what, when do you know if you're in perimenopause versus menopause? And like I said, if you're a woman in your twenties and you're like, that does not apply to me. Actually, it does because it's just, you don't want to get to menopause and have no reserves.   Progesterone left because you depleted it from high levels of cortisol over the years. So, lifestyle changes, the protein, smaller, more frequent meals, the consistent bedtime, trying to go to bed before midnight, like 10:00 PM is like a sweet spot. 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM is when the liver detoxes, when cholesterol gets flushed, all these different things.   Melatonin window for the body to like fall asleep and stay asleep is between 10 PM and like, there's sometimes it's even earlier. It just depends on the person. And I actually use a little app called Rise. It does a good job kind of helping you track where you're melatonin and when you're awake window, when to cut off eating and when to kind of wear blue light blocking glasses to prevent your body to blue light helps.   We set this in the last one, but blue light actually tells your body to stay awake. So, you don't want to be on your screens too late at night, or your body's going to be sending the signals to stay awake when you're trying to wind down. So, using softer lighting, doing candle lit, doing, you know, just mimicking outside when the sun goes down, we should be going down, going down to bed and sleep when the sun wakes up. That's when we should be getting up as well.   Laura Dugger: (39:15 - 39:38) So, and getting that morning sunlight that we talked about. So important. And I forgot one quick follow-up question. When you talked about cortisol, too high of cortisol contributing to belly fat, that stubborn or puffy face, what would the solution be? Is it just manage your stress better or what's the takeaway there?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (39:38 - 42:39) The takeaway is yes, there's things you can do glucose wise, blood sugar and food that we've talked about. Lifestyle wise, of course. I mean, a ton of it is we're American society that trophies busyness.   And like the Bible literally talks about the importance of rest and the Sabbath and like even humans, we were made on day six, but the first day we were actually doing things, Adam and Eve was day seven, was the day of rest. My dad's a pastor and he actually just gave a sermon on rest and the Sabbath just last week at Harvest Sound. But it was just all about that we were created out of rest.   Like we're there to start doing things out of that place of rest. And we just don't take that time. I mean, it's like, okay, we got to go, go, go, got to take care of the kids, got to go do this, go do this.   How are you doing? Oh, I'm so busy. How about you?   Like, it's almost like a trophy thing to say that, but really like, how about prioritizing that time? And it's so easy, especially as women and mothers to just say, oh, but I just want to take care of everybody else. But like, if you were to have a date with your friend, you wouldn't go overbook it with something else.   You would prioritize that. Are you going to go do something for your child? You're going to prioritize that.   So, I need you to also take time to prioritize your me time, prioritize the time. It's not selfish. It's necessary because you're going to be a better wife.   You're going to be a better mom. You're going to be a better friend. If you take care of the needs, whether that's taking an Epsom salt bath once a week, and that's spending time mourning sunlight or writing a list of gratitude, doing things, write a list of things that bring you joy and just pick two or three of those a day.   Like build that in - life's too short. Literally cortisol will kill you. Also, we didn't talk about that, but it's taking minutes off your life.   So, life's too short to have cortisol, unnecessary cortisol spikes. So, as much as we can,  it's prioritizing that learning the healthy boundaries saying no when needed to, and, not saying yes to everything. So, that is, it's a lot of those lifestyle things.   And then, fine tuning it with a health practitioner is great because everybody's spikes and crashes are in different places. Some people have high cortisol. Some people further on into the adrenal fatigue have low cortisol because the body doesn't have any more cortisol to give.   And that's a whole other list of symptoms of exhaustion and fatigue. And they might need actually glandular support and different, totally different supplements than someone that's got high cortisol, but they can present similarly as far as stubborn weight, puffiness, energy spikes and crashes and different things like that.   Laura Dugger: (42:40 - 43:04) So how incredible to get to follow up with a health professional then, and you are certainly one that we would recommend. And so even if we're out of state, but we could make a first appointment with you and figure out some way to do telehealth, can you just give us your website or share what you have to offer so that we can maybe make a follow-up appointment after this conversation?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (43:05 - 43:38) So it's pureintegrativehealth.com. And I could click on the tab, become a patient, just fill that form out. And then we can talk about a plan if you're in Tennessee, great.   We can just right away, we know you're in person. If you are out of state, I have to see you in person for the first initial eval and then we can come up with some hybrid plan of telemedicine in between visits and legally just need to be able to see you still once a year or something in person, but we could do the rest in telemedicine options.   Laura Dugger: (43:39 - 43:58) So yeah, it's a wonderful option. We will link to that in the show notes for today's episode. And Emily, you're already familiar that we're called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge or insight. And so as my final question for you today, what is your Savvy Sauce?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (43:59 - 46:04) Well, in regards to this topic today with hormones, I would say my Savvy Sauce is actually, it would be around getting that bedtime routine down packed in order to have an eight to 10 hours of like actual sleep because the mind does a brain sweep and gets rid of toxins in the brain between seven and a half hours and nine hours. It's happened somewhere in that window. And so if we're skipping out on sleep, we're missing out.   If you're getting even six hours, you're missing out on the neural brain sweep that actually gets rid of the toxins that prevent Alzheimer's, dementia, a lot of other problems. The metabolism at nighttime, the body literally burns fat at night. We have to get sleeping.   And so, and if you're having problems sleeping, you're like, I want to sleep, but I haven't, then I would recommend start looking into different forms of magnesium. I can't get into it fully today because there's seven different kinds of magnesium, but there are some that will actually help with sleep. And so talk with your practitioner about the best forms that could help you increase your sleep as well, because most of us can be deficient in that and creating that really, really healthy rhythm.   Just knowing your why behind why you're sleeping is also really helpful because it's like, you can hear a lot of people say, you need to get more sleep. I should go to bed, do this, but why? It's actually getting a neural sweep, liver is detoxing, cholesterol is cleansing.   God does an incredible thing with our dreams. We're literally flushing and processing all the things from the day. And so, talk about stress and adrenals.   We got to help heal through our sleep.   Laura Dugger: (46:05 - 46:26) Wow. Thank you for leaving us with that word. There's so much more we could cover.   And ever since our first interaction, you have just been overflowing with kindness and graciousness and generosity with your time and sharing your knowledge. You're so kind, but I have just loved spending this time with you. Thank you so much, Emily, for being my repeat guest.   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (46:27 - 46:32) Oh, my goodness. Thank you so much, Laura, for having me again. This has been wonderful. I really appreciate it.   Laura Dugger: (46:33 – 50:15) One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term gospel before?   It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior. But God loved us so much, he made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.   We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, would you pray with me now?   Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you. Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life?   We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.   If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me, so me for him. You get the opportunity to live your life for him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason.   We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you ready to get started? First, tell someone.   Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible.   I selected the Quest NIV Bible, and I love it. You can start by reading the book of John. Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ.   I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. We want to celebrate with you too, so feel free to leave a comment for us here if you did make a decision to follow Christ. We also have show notes including where you can read scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “In the same way I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

268. Savvy Business and Health & Wellness Tips and Journey to Overcoming Infertility with Laura Jean Bell   1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."   Today's episode includes some thematic material. I want you to be aware before you listen in the presence of little ears.    *Transcription Below*   Laura Jean Bell is a believer, storyteller, writer, wife to her high school sweetheart and mama to three miracle babies.   She is a published author of You Can Always Come Home by Laura Jean Bell, in addition to being a Business and Social Media Coach.    Laura also overcame stage 3 endometriosis by taking the road less traveled and now she spends countless hours helping other women take that road with her!    Connect with Laura on Instagram: @laura_jean_bell   Laura Jean Bell's Website   Questions and Topics We Discuss: What are a handful of practical tips you can offer others, especially as it relates to digital marketing? Will you share your research on Minerals: How do we even determine what minerals we need?  Will you leave us with a few more social media tips?   Thank You to Our Sponsor: Midwest Food Bank   Other Episodes Related to This Topic from The Savvy Sauce: 48 Pursuing Health, Not Vanity Before and After Childbearing with Blogger, Speaker, and Coach, Megan Dahlman 33 Pursuing Health in the New Year with Functional Medicine Specialist, Dr. Jill Carnahan 68 Hormones and Simple Changes to Feel SO Much Better with Functional Medicine Expert, Dr. Jill Carnahan 70 Energy to Spark Success in Your Business with Best-Selling Author, Speaker, and Podcaster, Christy Wright 76 Conflict Resolution, Infidelity, and Infertility with Licensed Psychologist and Certified Sex Therapist, Dr. Jessica McCleese 77 How 2 Questions Can Grow Your Business and Change Your Life with Author, Pastor, and Podcaster, Jeff Henderson 132 Pursuing Your God-Given Dream with Francie Hinrichsen 256 Gut Health, Allergies, Inflammation and Proactive Solutions with Emily Macleod-Wolfe 266 Female Sex Hormones, Periods, and Perimenopause with Emily Macleod-Wolfe   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook, Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:10)   Laura Dugger: (0:11 - 1:25) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.    Today's episode includes some thematic material. I want you to be aware before you listen in the presence of little ears.    Thank you to an anonymous donor to Midwest Food Bank who paid the sponsorship fee in hopes of spreading awareness. Learn more about this amazing nonprofit organization at MidwestFoodBank.org.   Laura Jean Bell is my guest today, and she is a Jesus-loving author and also a business and social media coach. So, not only is she going to share some of her best savvy social media and business tips, but also the conversation takes a detour into health and wellness, and she has an abundance of wisdom to share there as well, even including practical tips that we can implement today for our own flourishing in health and well-being. Here's our chat.   Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Laura.   Laura Jean Bell: (1:26 - 1:27) Hi, thank you for having me.   Laura Dugger: (1:28 - 1:34) I'd love for you just to start us off by giving us a snapshot glimpse of your current life right now.   Laura Jean Bell: (1:35 - 2:27) Oh, my goodness, my chaotic life. Actually, it's a sweet, beautiful thing, but I am a wife to my high school sweetheart. We have been married, this year will be 11 years, and we have three kiddos. Emmylou, who is six. She literally just turned six. My son Oaks, who is three, and my youngest is Lottie, and she just turned nine months. So, my life is very full. I own my business, I am a published author, and I have three very, very needy children, right? I'm in a season of life where I'm very, very, very needed, and that's a beautiful thing, but it can be a very overwhelming thing at times. So, that is a little snapshot about my day-in and day-out life.   Laura Dugger: (2:27 - 2:43) That sums it up well. Gorgeous kid names, by the way. Oh, thank you. But I'd love to hear more about your business, too. Would you mind just explaining the work that you get to do as a digital marketer and online income mentor?   Laura Jean Bell: (2:44 - 4:58) Sure. Okay, so, this has been such a fun journey for me, and just to maybe explain it in like a Reader's Digest version, because I think that there's so much on the internet right now that's like, make $5 million in four minutes. But what I do is actually help business owners.    So, like the average woman who maybe is wanting to build an income or find her place online, that was where I started. That's where I began, like really helping those women be like, “Hey, I can be a business owner, too.” I can actually have like a mark and a place in this space, which I think is often really hard for women to like grasp, because we're so inundated with influencer culture.    But as the business began to expand and grow, I really started to lean into how do I help business owners actually market their business and make it really profitable online? Because a lot of times there's business owners that have these great businesses, but they don't actually have the marketing piece to actually sell the thing that makes their business a business. And some of them have a brick and mortar, and they're brick and mortar as well, but they'd love to increase their income.    How do you do that? You get online; you make sales online. And so, what I do is I teach female business entrepreneurs how to scale their business using Instagram.    I do not focus on any other platforms. My main focus is Instagram and teaching them how to use their messaging to make sales consistently. And so, I help them figure out their messaging and then write it.    Actually, I write content for a lot of my clients. And then I teach them consistency and speed so that their life isn't just consumed by the internet, which is like what all of us feel, right? Like, once you get on, you're like, how do I do this?    And I have to create this, I have to edit this, I have to do that. Like, it becomes very overwhelming. And so, what I do is I just eliminate the overwhelm.    I simplify it and I help entrepreneurs really find their messaging.   Laura Dugger: (4:59 - 5:15) Wow, that's incredible. So, you clearly have a gift for communication and articulating different things. Is there anything you want to just give us a little peek into practical tips if somebody is running their own social media?    Any tips you'd have for business owners?   Laura Jean Bell: (5:17 - 6:59) I think that the biggest, the greatest understatement that's happening right now online is followers and views mean absolutely nothing. They are like the beginning of Instagram, the beginning of social media. It was all about like, how many friends do you have?    And then it was how many followers do you have? And you know, how many views are you getting on your stories? And you get all these interactions on your reels.    And like, while that is the mental game of social media, and that is the thing that everybody is going for, because it actually fuels this like dopamine hit in your brain. But the reality is, is that there are people with thousands upon thousands of followers that are making $0 on the internet. And what they need is the actual messaging that says, “Hey, this is how I serve this pain point, and give you the life you want.”   And so, the biggest thing is, if you have five people in one day that view your stories, and three of them actually buy from you, like, that's over 50%. So, you're looking at, while everybody is freaking out about the number, it really is about your messaging in order to convert to sales, you can have a bunch of eyes on you. But if you're not serving the people that are following you, and serving them towards a sale, it doesn't mean anything.    So, don't focus on the numbers, focus on your messaging, focus on your brand, focus on what it is that you are serving your people with. And you will make money, you just will. It's how it works.    So, I hope that answers your question. Well for you.   Laura Dugger: (6:59 - 7:26) But yeah, I love it, because it's so unexpected, I would have never known. And I've also heard you encourage people to share their stories rather than just stating facts. And you share your own story, both online and in your book, You Can Always Come Home: Following the Breadcrumbs of Your Past to Find the Hope for Your Tomorrow.    So, Laura, how can we all incorporate stories into our own work so that we can better serve others?   Laura Jean Bell: (7:28 - 8:59) That's such a good question. And I think the biggest thing is, what story do you want people to know? What story is it that like, you really think like, you've been pricked, right, by the Holy Spirit, like, this is the story that I need you to tell.    This is why you walked through this experience. This is why you're doing this thing. Because oftentimes, we can negate the things that we've walked through, and act as if like, those things didn't, weren't that big of a deal because you survived it, right?    Like, oh, well, you know, it wasn't anything, it was a big deal, right? And so, what are the things that you actually feel are important, they keep showing up, they keep becoming the things that people are asking you about? And how do you tell that story to where somebody hears the messy middle, and then the beautiful resolve, the beautiful ending to that story, because there is, right, the beginning, the middle, and the end.    And that's what makes stories so impactful. Facts tell, right? Like, anybody can tell you that, like, a carrot is orange.    But like, if somebody tells you the story of how the carrot became orange, or how this, like, what the soil does to all of this, and how it adds these nutrients, doesn't that make you like, appreciate a carrot more, want to eat a carrot more, want to go buy the carrots more, right? And so, the same goes with our story, like, what is it that actually happened to create this specific result?   Laura Dugger: (9:00 - 9:11) That's so good. Well, and speaking of stories, are you willing to walk us through a little bit of your own story with your health journey? Yeah, absolutely.    Ask me anything.   Laura Jean Bell: (9:11 - 9:16) I'm an open book. It might scare some people. I'm an open book about it.   Laura Dugger: (9:17 - 9:33) I appreciate that. Yeah, just, you're clearly a very healthy woman. But I know you've had a whole past that you've walked.    So, has health always been important to you? Or at what point of life did you start to make some changes because it wasn't working?   Laura Jean Bell: (9:35 - 14:24) Yeah, you know, it's so interesting. When I reflect on something like that. Um, you know, I grew up in a home, I always start with this, like, my mother was not a dieter.    Like she didn't diet all the time. She wasn't always like, on some workout trend or not eating carbs or not doing this. Like it was never that.    My mom is naturally like very, very, very thin. And so, like that wasn't a part of the conversation. My mom was always obsessed, though, with, like eating food that's good for you.   Like, and in the 90s, like that was really tricky, right? Because they were so many messages about like, what's good for you? What's not that is bad.    Like there's all these things. And while our household, I say was probably much healthier than the average household in the 1990s and early 2000s. I don't think that I ever like cared about my health.    I still ate the Hot Pockets and the Easy Mac and ramen noodles and every opportunity that my parents actually let us eat out like I was chowing down. So, when I reflect on like my years, like 0 to 18, all I cared about was just consumption. I was like, nobody could stop the amount of food that I could consume.    I'm five foot eleven (5' 11”). I was growing like crazy. You can ask my family like I could out eat anyone.    It was kind of unbelievable. So, that part of my life, like, that was not an unhealthy thing. College is when things began for me.    And when I went to college, I for most of my life, I was a competitive dancer. So, like, I was consuming but I was burning like it was like calories in versus calories out. I had no concept of that.    I did not know how to read a nutrition label on the back of a box until I was like, well into college, like, literally remember learning how to do it in a college health class. So, I go to college. And I noticed that I started gaining weight, right?    Like, I'm eating all the fast-food options that are in our student center. And then the cafeteria food. This isn't my mom's home cooked meals anymore.    This isn't the mostly healthy option anymore. And I start gaining weight. So, when that happened, I started hearing other girls talk about what they were doing.    Like, oh, well, you just eat less than exercise more. And like, I had no concept of like, what, what did that mean? Right?    Like, do you just not eat like I love to eat, right. And so, what I started doing, I didn't know how to like lift weights or do anything. So, I started running, because I thought, okay, I have endurance, I danced forever, like, you have to have that endurance with that.    So, like, I'll run. So, I start running. And I completely gave up meat.    I was like, well, I can just eat. I thought meat somehow made you fat. I don't know.    That was just some weird thing that I had in my head. And I stopped eating meat, and I ate less. So, like, I just kind of narrowed down what I was eating, and then ate less of it kind of thing.    And that was when my health problems began, was when I began doing that. Which is really interesting, right? I was probably eating roughly like 1000 to 1200 calories a day, but I was running four to six miles a day.    So, like, I was not fueling what I was burning. Although I was losing weight. So, like, calories in versus calories out, like the concept of like, just eat less than exercise more, it was working.    I was 19. Like, I was young, I had a like, everything was working right, you know. But all of a sudden, my body was like, you're depriving me.    And I'm not only being deprived of actual calories, I'm being deprived of nutrients. And what began to happen is it started to show up in my hormones, with my cycle, started breaking out in hormonal acne on my chin, I started having very short cycles. So, like, for any woman listening that maybe doesn't have a concept of this language, because oddly enough, so many women don't, and it's like about us.    But like, a woman has a cycle, your period isn't your cycle, it's the full month that's your cycle. And I was instead of 28 days, I was having 18 day cycles. And the pain during my period was excruciating.    It was so painful. And I'd never experienced that before. So, those were the things that began to show up.    But I just kept going with what I was doing. And just thought I just had bad periods. I had family members that had bad periods, this just must be genetic. And I just have to live with it and pop ibuprofen every 18 days, right. So, that was kind of where it where it started.   Laura Dugger: (14:25 - 16:04) Let's take a quick break to hear a message from our sponsor. Midwest Food Bank who exists to provide industry leading food relief to those in need while feeding them spiritually. They are a food charity with a desire to demonstrate God's love by providing help to those in need.    Unlike other parts of the world where there's not enough food, in America the resources actually do exist. That's why food pantries and food banks like Midwest Food Bank are so important. The goods that they deliver to their agency partners help to supplement the food supply for families and individuals across our country, aiding those whose resources are beyond stretched.   Midwest Food Bank also supports people globally through their locations in Haiti and East Africa, which are some of the areas hardest hit by hunger arising from poverty. This ministry reaches millions of people every year. And thanks to the Lord's provision, 99% of every donation goes directly toward providing food to people in need.    The remaining 1% of income is used for fundraising, cost of leadership, oversight and other administrative expenses. Donations, volunteers and prayers are always appreciated for Midwest Food Bank. To learn more, visit MidwestFoodBank.org or listen to Episode 83 of The Savvy Sauce where the founder David Kieser shares miracles of God that he's witnessed through this nonprofit organization. I hope you check them out today. Was that the point that led to what you call your year of rebellion? Or did that come later?   Laura Jean Bell: (16:05 - 23:39) No way that that was just the start of basically, roughly eight years of undiagnosed endometriosis. So, what started happening is in college, I would have these what I call episodes where I would be roughly like a day or two before my period would start. And I would have this unbelievable pain that would come over me.    And I could feel it literally my lower abdomen, so much pressure, so much discomfort. Oftentimes, it would involve vomiting, passing out, so painful. To this day, I've had an unmedicated birth.    And I'm here to tell you that the pain of pushing out an almost 10-pound baby, and that were roughly the same thing. It was unbelievable, excruciating pain. I would go to the doctor, they would not give me ultrasounds, they would not check anything, they would not even do my blood work, they did nothing.    They would just say you have really painful periods, and we'll give you birth control. That was every year from 2010 until 2017. This was what was given to me.    And so, in 2017, I was on my way to work, and I had one of those episodes. And I called the doctor, they bring me in, and I said, I want an ultrasound, like I will sit here all day, I need an ultrasound. And so, they did an ultrasound and found two cysts on one ovary, one on the other, and they were six and seven centimeters and six centimeters.    I mean, it was just crazy, these large cysts. And they were like, you more than likely have endometriosis. This is, you know, they started explaining all the things.    And fast forward, I ended up having two laparoscopies, which is the surgery to remove endometriosis in 10 months, the average woman can go 18 months between surgeries, and I had mine in 10 months. That's how reoccurring rapidly it was growing and spreading in my body. And I felt zero relief from the surgeries, which everyone promised, like, you'll feel amazing, you'll, you know, you'll get pregnant. I couldn't get pregnant. I was in so much pain, and I go through another cycle of it.    And it's like, these doctors are like, yeah, you're probably just not going to be able to have children. We recommend you getting on birth control, or getting a hysterectomy, like, these are your options. And so, what I did is I went to see a fertility specialist, like anybody would do like, I'm not going to just stick with my OB. I'm going to see if I can actually have kids. And so, I see a fertility specialist, I go through multiple, multiple, multiple rounds of fertility treatments, and I wind up getting pregnant with my first daughter, Emilu.    So, she is a product of folly stem stimulation and an IUI. And lots of trigger shots and lots of synthetic progesterone. I did all of it.    And after my daughter was born a year postpartum, I got pregnant again, and I miscarried that baby. That baby was miscarried March of 2020, which is when everybody went crazy, right? 2020, like who has their 2020 story, right?   And so, my daughter was little, I mean, she was like 14 months old, when I had this miscarriage. And I remember watching, I watched this video, it was called The Pandemic. And a lot of people like didn't actually see it because it was taken off the internet for misinformation.    And it was a woman that was explaining what was really happening with the pandemic, which is funny, because all of it's true now. But it was taken down like, she's crazy. This is a horrible pandemic, nothing was created in a lab, all of that.    And I was like, I went to watch it again, because I thought this woman must be crazy. Like there's no way that this would actually happen. And I went to watch it again.    And it was taken off the internet for misinformation. And this thought came over me, which is so bizarre now. Like, I know more about Kim and Kanye's divorce, than I know about what's happening with this pandemic.    Yet, Kim and Kanye's divorce information is there for me to see. And they're not letting me look at this. Why?    And it was this very strange thing that came over me. But everything that came out that was like, don't take this medicine to help COVID, don't do this, actually, like saturated fats are bad for you, like all of these different things that were popping up. And people were saying, it's misinformation.    I was like, I'm going to research that. I'm going to research that. I'm going to research that the fertility doctor that did my DNC after I had a miscarriage. They actually said to me, you will never again, have another pregnancy.    But if you do, you will not have a normal child. That is what they discovered and decided about me, according to the results from that DNC, what happened to that baby, why that baby wasn't developing, why I lost that baby. It literally like, and him saying that to me, I was like, why?    And it was almost like he couldn't explain to me the reasons why, but that I just never would. And this is what I needed to do next in order to stay healthy and keep endometriosis away. And so, I went on this journey for one year and I committed to one year where I was like, everything that is misinformation, I'm going to research it.    Everything that I have been told is good for me or is the best choice for me because of my condition. I'm going to actually look at what they're giving to me and like, why? Um, every time somebody told me like endometriosis is incurable.    Okay. But like, what is endometriosis? Nobody actually explained to me what it was.    They just told me I had it and that it caused what it caused, not actually what caused it. And so, when I went on this journey, I began to discover and unfold so many things that absolutely blew my mind, broke my heart, made me very angry because as I began to implement the things that I discovered, I healed and I got better. And all of a sudden I don't have endometriosis anymore.    All of a sudden I'm pregnant with a very healthy baby. All of a sudden, like everything is better. How is it that the things that the providers that were working with me, what they were doing for me was keeping me sick.    And as I branched out and did all the things that they said was absolutely crazy. I had one of them literally looking at me and he was holding topical progesterone and he was like, this stuff, like with all due respect to this functional doctor that talked to you, this stuff doesn't work. And unfortunately they sell things to people like you, young women who are desperate for answers.    They sell this stuff to you to make so much money and it's not going to do anything for you. Guess what? Topical progesterone changed my life.    So, anyways, that is kind of a little bit of like my year of rebellion and what happened. I'm happy to go into details for you, but I feel like I'm getting long winded with it.   Laura Dugger: (23:39 - 24:13) No, that's incredible. I do want to do a deep dive into it because I think it's such a blessing after you've spent over a year researching this and then living this for multiple years. I think it can be such a benefit to each of us.    And I'm recalling this story specifically about toxins where people were saying that means nothing. But in that fertility clinic, somebody told you, there was a sign that said their employees were not allowed to wear certain toxins because quote, it could inhibit the fertility process.   Laura Jean Bell: (24:14 - 24:14) Yes.   Laura Dugger: (24:15 - 24:16) Can you elaborate on that?   Laura Jean Bell: (24:17 - 26:18) Yes. You know, what's really funny is I went to the health department to get some paperwork and stuff for my kids the other day. And, um, there was a sign up that was like any and all women that are getting mammograms, if you're getting a mammogram, do not wear perfume or deodorant for a mammogram because of the radiation mixed with the toxins.    I asked the woman that was sitting there, I was like, why did they say that? And she explained it to me and I was like, oh, okay. So, why aren't you telling us to stop wearing it altogether?    Um, but when I went to the fertility clinic, I was going through fertility. I was like an avid Daisy by Mark Jacobs perfume where I don't know. I still love the way that smells.    It's the yummiest, but I would wear it all the time. And I went in and the woman that was there, she was like, you smell so good. And I was like, it's Daisy by Mark Jacobs.    She was like, I wish I could wear perfume to work. I'm not allowed to. And I was like, why not?   And she was like, oh, because like the people that are working on women who are going through fertility, getting their IU eyes. So, it's like when they're actually inseminating you, like we, it could inhibit the fertility process. She was like, have you ever noticed we don't have any candles?    Like we're not allowed to bring candles here, all of that. And I was like, why aren't you telling me to stop doing that? Is that not interesting to anyone?    Like why is no one paying attention to the fact that like, I'm walking in here with perfume on to get an IU eye that's going to fail because it inhibits the, for the fertility process, like the one that works. Uh, guess what? I wasn't wearing any perfume.    So, it's like, it's one of those things that like, when I heard that, I thought, well, what is it that messes with the fertility process? Like what, what is that? And this was honestly, when I heard this information, this was before my year of rebellion.    So, like, I remember her telling me that and I kind of stopped wearing it to the sessions because I thought, well, I don't want to get this messed up anyways.   Laura Dugger: (26:18 - 26:29) So, yeah, pretty wild. That's incredible. And okay.    So, from that year of rebellion, what other tweaks did you make small and large?   Laura Jean Bell: (26:30 - 29:38) Oh man. Um, some big things like I removed toxins from my home. So, that looked like removing Clorox wipes and, um, detergents that are just like your average detergents that you buy from the store.    Um, I stopped burning candles and started burning, not burning, but diffusing essential oils. Um, from there, what I really started focusing on was my protein intake. Um, I spent so many years vegan, vegetarian, refusing meat, refusing proteins.    And those were the years that things were really bad for me. When I started to reincorporate animal proteins and quality animal fats, my cycles went from 18 days to 29 days. I started having painless periods.    My hair started growing more. Um, my nails wouldn't break. Um, my, even my vision got better.   And so, what was really interesting is I started learning that if you are protein deficient, you will be progesterone deficient and progesterone is the pregnancy hormone. This is the hormone you have to have in order to conceive. I always tell it like this progesterone equals pro gestation.    So, if you don't have enough progesterone, your baby cannot survive the first 12 weeks. That's what the baby lives on before the placenta is formed. You have to have progesterone in order to balance out the estrogen progesterone balance.    If it's imbalanced, that's where you have pain, mood swings, acne, discomfort, the growth of endometriosis and PCOS. These things are really important. Progesterone is so important for your mental health.    If you are mentally low, like think about your progesterone levels. Think about how much you're sleeping. If you're sleeping in complete darkness, that raises your levels.    If you eat at least 80 grams of protein a day, it raises your progesterone levels. These are two really basic things. Like it's really simple.    It's not complicated. So, that was probably the biggest thing for me was learning how to eat because for years we're told, at least all of my life, like fat is bad. They would rather you eat hydrogenated oils and I can't believe it's not better than actually eat grass-fed butter.    Why? Why is it bad for you? When you really uncover the work that was done in the studies that were given for explaining that fat is bad, it was all paid for.    It was all paid for by the medical industry, by big pharma in order to push this agenda. They said that it was bad for our hearts, but get this, in the years after they told everyone that it was horrible for heart health, heart disease skyrocketed as people began to eat less animal protein and less animal fats. So, anyways, just to give like a little, some of the things that I discovered and changed, that's the main thing, which really and truly is like not that complicated.    Wow.   Laura Dugger: (29:39 - 29:45) Yes. Focusing on what you're intaking. What about cortisol? What did you learn about that?   Laura Jean Bell: (29:46 - 32:21) So, cortisol is like your get up and get crap done hormone. Okay. And when you are living in a state of fight or flight, where basically you get up in the morning, I'm going to give you an example of what a lot of women do.    And they end up having issues with cortisol and eventually stop producing it altogether. So, a woman gets up in the morning, she wakes up, she drinks a cup of coffee with no food on her stomach. And she goes and does a 30-minute cardio workout.    And then she comes in and she eats maybe like a protein bar, like a little, like some type of granola bar, another cup of coffee. She goes to work. She works all day or she's home with her kids all day.    And by the time she's got her work done, or she's taking care of her children and fed her children, doing all of these things, you're going all day long. All of a sudden it's three o'clock and you haven't eaten anything and you're in a bad mood and you're really tired. And so, maybe you go get a snack and another cup of coffee.    And then by the time you get to dinner, it's the only meal that you've really sat down and had for the day. Okay. So, what has that done to you?    Your body believes because your body and your brain don't know the difference between a bear chasing you or you running strictly on caffeine and doing too much cardio. And so, all of a sudden she is moody. She's exhausted.    She's running on all this tension. Her hair starts to fall out. She gets acne.    Her skin's doing some weird stuff. Her nails are kind of brittle. All this, you're always moody.   You're always in a bad mood. It's because your cortisol is doing this. It's like, and it's like on, it's like high.    And sometimes when you keep doing this, you actually can get a lot of energy. And then all of a sudden your adrenals, because your adrenals are what produced cortisol. Your adrenals are like, actually we're done.    Like stop running from the bear. Just die. Like literally it like can't do anything for you anymore.   And you go into what a lot of people call, or doctors call adrenal failure, which is where your body doesn't even produce cortisol anymore. And so, that is when you can't get out of bed in the morning. You're so exhausted.    Um, you can't lose weight. You, no matter what you do, you're winded. You're overwhelmed.   Um, but you don't have energy for anything. You have so much brain fog, um, so much bloat and inflammation. It's because your body's not producing cortisol.    So, you don't have the energy to get anything done. Um, does that answer your question?   Laura Dugger: (32:21 - 32:45) Yeah, this is so interesting because I feel like there's a whole health movement right now. So, there's a lot of buzz about all of this and people, I think, especially after 2020 people are waking up. So, love gathering perspectives as you're talking about inflammation then too, with cortisol, have you researched much about grounding, like actually barefoot on the earth?    Yes, girl. Are you kidding me? Absolutely.   Laura Jean Bell: (32:46 - 35:48) Um, so, something that was really interesting, I went to see a specialist, um, when I was really healing my adrenals, because a fun fact for you, like when your adrenals are just in overload, if you are experiencing high cortisol, you're constantly up here. Guess what? Your body's going to throw out the window fertility because what in the world is safe about a body that is running from a bear?    Like, no, your body is preserving you because it's not safe for you to host a life. So, I was seeing a doctor who was really helping me. Um, it's called muscle testing.    So, they test each organ according to how your muscles respond. And, um, I was in adrenal failure. And at this point I'd already had my second child and was experiencing a lot of inflammation.    I couldn't lose weight. I was like so tired. I was irritable.    And, um, I did this long session with him and I was in St. Pete, Florida doing this session. And he said, you have an assignment for the rest of the day. And I was like, okay.    And he was like, you need to go to the beach, like go somewhere and actually lay your entire body down on the sand. He was like, I know, like nobody wants to get sandy, but like lay on the sand. And I was like, tell me why.    And he was like, if you lay on the sand, it's your body touching the earth. And God gave you the earth as a battery pack. And this battery pack literally is going to shoot energy back into your body that your body has been deprived of.    And like, there's, he started going into all the studies for it, but he was like, don't you ever know the difference? Like, and how you feel when you've been cooped up at work all day. And then like, you go on a vacation to the beach and you sit on the beach and you put your feet in moving water.    He was like, it's literal living water. This living water moves and it heals and rejuvenates what happens to water that stagnant. It gets disgusting. Yeah.    It turns to mold, right? It actually goes toxic, but that moving water is healing. It's living.    It's rejuvenating. It's very biblical, right? And then you have the earth that God gave you is this battery pack.    There are people, this is going to sound crazy, but there are who have done LSD, like psychedelic drugs that talk about the vibrations of the earth. When they're on this drug, they are seeing the way. And they talk about there's a magnetic field.    They like, you can read, you can watch videos. You can see studies of people who did LSD, who literally can see the energy that the ground gives you. I mean, it's crazy, but isn't it like the Lord, right?    To give us what we need in nature, like magic.   Laura Dugger: (35:49 - 37:17) Yes. Where we're going back to the way that he designed, whether that's eating whole foods or getting outside in his beautiful nature. There's countless benefits, but I think it's just amazing that taking your shoes off and being on the earth, even for 30 seconds is beneficial.    When was the first time you listened to an episode of The Savvy Sauce?   How did you hear about our podcast? Did a friend share it with you? Will you be willing to be that friend now and text five other friends or post on your socials, anything about The Savvy Sauce that you love?    If you share your favorite episodes, that is how we continue to expand our reach and get the good news of Jesus Christ in more ears across the world. So, we need your help. Another way to help us grow is to leave a five-star review on Apple podcasts.    Each of these suggestions will cost you less than a minute, but it will be a great benefit to us. Thank you so much for being willing to be generous with your time and share. We appreciate you.    You had also talked about previously with your health journey, being deficient in minerals, I think you said as well, or just not getting the nutrients. So, are there any minerals that we all are likely lacking or any that you would recommend from your research and experience?   Laura Jean Bell: (37:18 - 39:36) Yeah, I would, I mean, every mineral. The most underrated mineral right now is potassium. The amount of women who are potassium deficient and need more potassium is unreal.    But magnesium is huge. You have to have magnesium for your body to even naturally produce vitamin D. Like vitamin D is a hormone, but you have to have magnesium for your body to produce vitamin D.    How many have gone to the doctor and they're like, you are very low in vitamin D, right? Well, get in the sunshine more, take the supplement, but like, where's your magnesium, right? And so, magnesium, potassium, potassium is huge, especially for your mental health.    This is really going to help you in like balancing out, like you're removing the brain fog, really. Sodium, which everyone's like, eat less sodium. You need less sodium chloride.    You need less table salt. You don't need less salt. Your body has salt.    Your body needs salt. Think about what your t-shirt looks like when you drenched in sweat. It dries and what does it have?    Salt. It's salty, right? When you're sweaty, it's salty.    And it's because your body actually needs sodium. It has to have it. And so, stop using white table salt, like iodized salt.    Go get some quality Celtic salt, like really simple, but put that in your water. Like first thing in the morning, drink some water with some Celtic salt, like get those electrolytes back in your system. So, potassium, magnesium, sodium, and calcium, like your body needs calcium and you can get calcium in multiple ways, um, multiple ways, but calcium is going to support your bones.    It's going to help support your muscles. Cause if you are working those muscles, your body needs the strength. And so, calcium is going to give you that balance as well.    It's fantastic. So, all of them, but like, I think the make sure you're getting magnesium, just like if you just need to start somewhere, just get a magnesium supplement. I recommend magnesium glycinate because it's kind of the overall magnesium.   Laura Dugger: (39:37 - 39:44) So, it's great. Okay. And you said you can get calcium multiple places.    Do you take that as a supplement or where do you get your calcium?   Laura Jean Bell: (39:45 - 41:04) So, I actually do adrenal cocktails. So, that is, um, coconut water, orange juice and Celtic salt. That's it.    And just do a little adrenal cocktail in the morning. And in the afternoon, make sure that you have had protein before you drink it, because if you're anything like me, it'll spike your blood sugar. Um, if you're not balanced, so, you need to be balanced.    Um, I've always been very sensitive to things like orange juice, apple juice. Like as a kid, I would feel really bad in the mornings and I just thought breakfast made my stomach hurt. And actually it was like, my blood sugar was dysregulated from the cup of orange juice and the cinnamon toast that my mom gave me.    Right. So, like, it's like butter, sugar, white flour, orange juice, like eat this for a nutrient dense breakfast. And I like would feel horrible after because my blood sugar was off.    So, um, make sure you get some protein on your stomach and drink the adrenal cocktail. Like my parents, my parents swear by it. My dad's like, this has changed my life.    I'm your mom's going to make me one of those little cocktail things that you tell, I tell her about all the time. It's hilarious. And I'm like, it's just juice and coconut water, but it's got the minerals.    That's why it makes you feel so good. It's because it's giving your body the nutrients that it needs.   Laura Dugger: (41:05 - 41:17) That's incredible. Are there any other biohacks, health hacks, even the role of light that it plays or movement or anything else that you want to recommend with your extensive research?   Laura Jean Bell: (41:18 - 43:19) Um, I'll give two things. Uh, number one: if you can get up as the sun is rising or a little bit before and actually go outside and stare at the red light. The actual, morning sunrise, and then watch the sunset. If you can get your eyeballs on just like the surroundings where that red light is hitting, that will do wonders for the production of melatonin in your gut.    It's going to help you sleep. It's going to help you sleep really good at night, which is going to help you with your progesterone levels. So, that is great.    Number two is weightlifting. If you can incorporate at least two days a week of heavy weightlifting into your routine, it's going to do wonders. And the reason I say that is that estrogen, toxic estrogen, not the estrogen that's good for you that you need to like make you female, but like the toxic estrogens you're getting from perfumes and food and plastics and all the things it stores itself in fat, in visceral fat.    And so, the best way to burn fat and build muscle is by lifting weights. And so, if you want to keep toxic estrogens out of your body, step number one, get rid of fat, like fight hard for like, I mean, I'm still postpartum. I'm still burning off like weight that I gained in pregnancy.    But the number one thing that motivates me is not like, I want to look better, which of course I want to look better. Of course I want to fit back into my clothes, like all of that. But like Laura toxic estrogens store themselves in this fat.    And so, what, when you are lifting weights, you are burning fat and building muscle to support your family and not be burdened by the imbalance of your hormones. Like right there. That is the reason why.    So, lift weights. It's so good for you. It protects you from so many other diseases, but like that alone, women do not understand the power of that.    It's going to do wonders for you.   Laura Dugger: (43:20 - 43:47) Okay. This is so helpful. And then I'm thinking it's beneficial to have a specific plan.    So, as we think about where you talked about laundry detergents or limiting toxins, will you share a few of your personal favorite products? And then also what are some recommended things we can actually eat? Like when you walk through a healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, what would you share?   Laura Jean Bell: (43:49 - 45:22) Okay. So, some favorite products. I started out using Thieves household concentrate.    Young Living sells it. And it's like $26 for a bottle of the concentrate. That concentrate can be household cleaner.    So, like it can clean any surface in your home. It can be used as dishwasher detergent. So, we use thieves instead of like pods in our, in our dishwasher.    And I'm here to tell you, I think Young Living just came out with dishwasher pods, like Thieves dishwasher pods. We don't use it. We still use the concentrate.    But we use that. You can use it in your laundry so you can wash your clothes in it. And so, we alternate with that.    Sometimes we use that. Sometimes we use Molly's Suds. Those are like little pods.    You can get them on Amazon. It's a non-toxic option. You can also wash your clothes and like baking soda and vinegar, like just be old school.    Your clothes won't smell like vinegar. Don't worry. Like the vinegar gets rid of the odor.    That's like how our grandparents did it. So, those are some really simple hacks. Just because that's inexpensive.    Like you can make 16, I think it's 16 bottles of household concentrate, like spray with the one bottle. So, like you buy the one bottle, it takes a cap full and then you fill the rest of the way up with water and it cleans anything. It's fantastic.    It smells great. You'll love it. What else did you ask me?   Laura Dugger: (45:22 - 45:28) Food? Yes, food. Like a sample menu. Okay.   Laura Jean Bell: (45:28 - 47:02) Something that I love to eat. I love to just really enjoy my food. Like if you're on the go, like I'll give it an example.    If you're on the go, I recommend like boil some eggs. Okay. Take like three boiled eggs.    Get like a chopstick to get your protein and like an RX bar. RX bars are going to have the carbs, but it's also going to have more protein. You'll get six grams of protein per egg and then about 10 grams in your chopstick.    So, it's like 18 grams of the eggs plus 10 is 28 grams plus the RX bar. You're going to get over 30 grams of protein and then you'll have some carbs. I do recommend getting a little bit more carbs, but if you're on the go and you're in a hurry and you need to feel balanced, that's a good start.    If you're home, like I love doing scrambled eggs and air frying sweet potatoes, peppers, and onions. It is delicious. Just trust me and season it with garlic powder and salt.    It's so simple. Some avocado oil and literally just allow, like think about all the carbs, all the protein, everything. The best hack though, that I learned with eggs is do two regular, like the full egg and then do two egg whites and then add cottage cheese to your eggs, blend it in a blender and then cook them and just thank me later.    So, you're getting extra protein, it's creamier, it's so good. And then eat that with sweet potatoes and peppers and it's primo.   Laura Dugger: (47:02 - 47:12) Okay. This sounds amazing. I love it.    And this is my post recording meal, the RX bar. I love it on busy days.   Laura Jean Bell: (47:13 - 48:27) Yes. For lunch, I mean lunch, I honestly, I keep like ground beef patties just ready. And my air fryer stays on. I literally use it for every meal.    Sometimes if I don't have it ready, I just pat it out, put it in the air fryer, it cooks. Do that with a bunch of veggies, get lots of fruit, mainly berries, like berries, apples, and just adding that in is your carb. You can do, if you need a snack, I highly recommend doing Greek yogurt and mixing in your favorite protein powder and mixing that up.    It's so good. The Greek yogurt gives you the carbs, the fats and protein, and then you add the extra protein in it. And so, it's excellent.    For dinner, our favorite meal, we eat a lot of grass-fed beef because we buy cow every year. So, we'll do bowls and we'll do like a bed of rice, sweet potatoes, peppers and onions, and then ground beef. And then we drizzle the Japanese barbecue sauce over it.    And we call it Japanese barbecue bowls. It's literally just like a bunch of vegetables and meat with sauce, but it's really good.    So, there's some meal ideas for you.   Laura Dugger: (48:28 - 48:49) That's incredible. Thank you for just rattling those off. We've got a plan now.    And I love how this conversation took a turn toward health. So, before we leave that section, any other healthy rhythms or best practices or ways you've simplified your life that you would recommend? Just sleep.   Laura Jean Bell: (48:49 - 49:34) I know that sounds ridiculous, but people aren't sleeping and go to bed without your phone. You're going to be okay. You really are.    If your kids can go to bed without their phones, without a phone in their face, you can do it too. It's not the best way to turn your brain off. So, go to bed.    When you lay in a dark room without any blue light, you actually are helping your nervous system reset itself. And it needs a moment to rest and digest. So, get in the bed without a blue light and close your eyes and go to sleep.    You can do it, but it's so simple. And try to get eight to 10 hours of sleep a night. Truly, it's so important.   Laura Dugger: (49:35 - 49:54) That's so good. And you're all about simplifying. You even help people simplify their digital marketing.    So, as we turn it back to business, I know you can't give away all of your secrets, but will you share just a few more business or social media tips with all of us?   Laura Jean Bell: (49:55 - 50:43) Oh, man. I think the number one thing that I would tell anyone who's wanting to do anything in the online space is don't spread yourself across every platform. It's not worth your time.    And the more you hone in on one thing, the more of that thing you will sell, like plain and simple. And you will make way more money. You will spend way less time working on it.    You will enhance the lives of the people that choose to work with you. That is what you will gain.    If you simplify your offers, number one, sell less. Just sell more of one thing and stop spreading yourself thin across all the platforms. It's just too much work.   Laura Dugger: (50:43 - 51:03) That's wise counsel. And will you also tell us, I mean, I'm amazed as I'm thinking of all this research that you've done. You're living a healthy lifestyle.    You're raising young children, consulting with others as their coach. Also, you wrote a book. Can you share a little bit about that?   Laura Jean Bell: (51:03 - 52:50) I wrote my book. I actually have it right next to me because I was like, if somebody is going to ask you what this book is about, it's a book of short stories. And it sounds really simple, but it's a book of short stories that really draws you back to who you are in the Lord and understanding your place, like your identity in Christ, your belonging, fighting against fear and really coming home to who God created you to be.    And so, this book is a compilation of short stories of my own life where these things were very disrupted. My identity, like a total identity crisis, like not just having so much fear, learning how to come back to who God made me to be, but really writing out the moments of when I was living in that season and the people that helped me kind of find my way out and the things that God really showed me in that journey. And so, have it right here.    You Can Always Come Home: Following the Breadcrumbs of Your Past to Find the Hope for Your Tomorrow. It's really what my heart was and I learned a lot when I left my hometown and I moved to small town, North Alabama. And although this is where my dad is from, this was not where I was raised.    And I walked into a total identity crisis when I moved here. And I write a lot about that and about the moments when I was living in that season. How the Lord would reveal to me, like, remember when this happened, or remember when this happened and how you handled it or what that person said to you. And I wrote those stories in here.    And so, the goal of this book is for anybody who reads it to know that God's on your side and everything's going to be okay.   Laura Dugger: (52:51 - 53:06) Thank you for sharing that, Laura. And we'll certainly add a link for that in the show notes for today's episode, but also what links can we give for your social media? And then if somebody wants to reach out and work with you, what would that process look like?   Laura Jean Bell: (53:07 - 53:47) Yeah, so, my Instagram is Laura_Jean_Bell and Jean is J-E-A-N. And if you want to work with me or reach out, you can email me at laurabellwrites@gmail.com, or you can literally go to my Instagram account and click the link in my bio where I explain what I do. And it offers an ability to hop on a call with me where we can talk together and see if we would be a good fit to work together.    So, those are the ways that you can contact me. I have a website, laurabell.co, and you can contact me through that as well.   Laura Dugger: (53:48 - 54:07) Wonderful. Thank you for adding that. We will make sure it's accessible for everyone.    And Laura, you may be familiar with why we're called The Savvy Sauce, which is because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so, my final question for you today, Laura, what is your Savvy Sauce?   Laura Jean Bell: (54:09 - 56:38) For life in general? You got it. Okay.    Well, I have two of them. And so, one of them is kind of silly and one of them is not. So, I'm going to go with the non-silly one.    Oh, share both. Yes. But I will say like this, there was this line that I heard, and I don't know who like trademarked this line, but it was very simple.    It said, “You are the CEO of your life.” And it was very simple, but it changed everything for me because for so much of my life, like if your knee jerk reaction to things not going your way is to blame someone else, you're not living as the CEO of your life. And I have spent a lot of my life, like when something doesn't go my way, I look for a person to blame instead of looking at myself and my own flaws. Being able to see that, “Hey, sometimes Laura, you're to blame and like, it's okay.”   You're the CEO of your life and you get to see what you did wrong, see how you messed up, see how you needed to shift something and then move on. And I think so many of us, whether we want to believe it or not, we can fall victim to that and live our lives so attached to this idea that somebody else is always to blame. Somebody else did this to me.    Sometimes things do happen to you that are not your fault. Sometimes you are a victim of horrible crimes and horrible things happening to you. But the question is, what are you going to do about it?    Who are you going to talk to about it? Are you going to go to the Lord and ask Him what it's actually supposed to look like for your life moving on from this place? Are you going to stay in a mindset that's small and traumatized, small and victimized?    Or are you going to say, “I'm the CEO of my life and I'm going to link arms with the Holy Spirit and keep moving forward.” And so, that was a huge thing for me to learn. And I feel like it's kind of been my savvy sauce in the last probably year, because 2024 was a year of a lot of things happening to me that weren't my fault.    And finally, one day I thought, you know, Laura, you can sulk in this, but it's not going to change your circumstance. What's going to change your circumstance is you saying, “I'm in charge of my life and I'm going to pick up the pieces of this and I'm going to ask God what to do with it.” And so, anyways, you're the CEO of your life and it's time to take charge of that.    So, yeah.   Laura Dugger: (56:38 - 56:42) I love it. And now you've got to share your silly one as well. You've left us curious.   Laura Jean Bell: (56:43 - 57:01) What is The Savvy Sauce? Let me just tell all of my, all of my geriatric millennials out there, you need to put castor oil on your face. Okay.    Just know that like castor oil, you need to look like a glazed donut when you go to bed and your skin is going to be, your skin will thank you. Just trust me.   Laura Dugger: (57:02 - 57:26) That's incredible. I was so grateful you shared. And Laura, I can see why clients are so drawn to work with you.    It is so delightful to have conversations with you. You are gifted in so many different arenas. And I think what really stands out is your generosity and just your willingness to share all of this with us.    So, thank you so much for being my delightful guest today.   Laura Jean Bell: (57:26 - 57:29) Oh, it's such a gift talking to you. Thank you for having me.   Laura Dugger: (57:30 - 1:01:12) One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news.    Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.    We need a savior, but God loved us so much. He made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.    That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life. We could never live and died in our place for our sin.    This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished. If we choose to receive what he has done for us, Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    So, you pray with me now. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you.    Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus name we pray.   Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me. So, me for him, you get the opportunity to live your life for him.    And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you're ready to get started.    First, tell someone, say it out loud, get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes and Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it.    You can start by reading the book of John. Also get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.    We want to celebrate with you too. So, feel free to leave a comment for us here. If you did make a decision to follow Christ, we also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.    And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.    And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

James Bascharon, DVM, is the founder and CEO of Vetnique, a pet health company dedicated to creating vet-formulated solutions that help pets thrive for life. Since launching in 2012 with the groundbreaking supplement Glandex for anal gland health, Bascharon has led Vetnique to become a leader across multiple categories including digestive support, dermatology, ear care, and joint health. His passion for innovation has guided the company's rapid growth—most recently marked by Vetnique's acquisition and US launch of YuMOVE, a globally trusted, science-backed joint health supplement. Bascharon was also recently named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year award winner, a true testament to his impact on veterinary innovation and the pet health industry.

In this episode, Noelle discusses the positive side of receiving parent complaints and introduces the concept of a clear parent expectation policy to reduce these complaints. She shares insights from her own experience of implementing a one-page document that covers common areas of confusion. The policy includes key topics like communication expectations, arrival and pickup procedures, health policies, behavior and discipline, payment and fees, classroom transitions, and more. By setting clear expectations upfront, Noelle highlights the significant drop in parent complaints and improved relationships. This episode aims to help childcare centers proactively minimize parent concerns and improve their overall program.Plus, grab my FREE Teacher Retention Plan to help strengthen your team's accountability and commitment: https://memberships.kartra.com/page/theultimateteacherretentionchecklistThe Early Education Empowerment Conference, come see me in person!  Plus 14 other amazing speakers!  https://memberships.kartra.com/page/empowermentconference

On Friday's Morning Focus, Alan Morrissey spoke to Clinical Child Psychologist, Dr. Toby Sachsenmaier about collaborative & proactive solutions. This week's topic centered on the playground—how to handle the moment when it's time to leave, but a tantrum seems imminent.

256. Gut Health, Allergies, Inflammation and Proactive Solutions with Emily Macleod-Wolfe   1 Corinthians 6:20 CEV "God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God."   **Transcription Below**   Emily MacLeod Wolfe is a Nurse Practitioner wellness professional with a passion for helping individuals achieve their health goals in a holistic and practical way.   With 5 years of invaluable experience in the field, Emily has developed a deep understanding of the importance of a balanced lifestyle for a vibrant life.   Emily firmly believes in treating the whole person, not just the symptoms, and takes a comprehensive approach to healthcare. She learned these from her own personal experience of dealing with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and eczema and found the root causes to treat them naturally. She is passionate to help others with the personal knowledge and health freedom she has received.   By combining her medical expertise with a focus on nutrition, exercise, and mindfulness, she empowers her clients to take control of their health and make sustainable lifestyle changes.   With a warm and empathetic demeanor, Emily creates a safe and supportive environment where clients feel heard and understood. She works closely with each individual to develop personalized wellness plans that are tailored to their unique needs and circumstances. Whether you're looking to improve your physical fitness, manage stress, or simply lead a healthier life, Emily is dedicated to guiding, encouraging & supporting you on your wellness journey.   Emily's Website   Find a Functional Medicine Provider in Your Area   Questions and Topics We Cover: Will you define what it means when you refer to our "gut" and explain why our gut health is vitally important to our overall health? What lifestyle sets us up to have a healthier gut? If you had to simplify it and leave encouragement for each of these areas, what's a good starting point for something we can all start doing, stop doing, and continue doing?   Thank You to Our Sponsor: Dream, Build, Grow: A Female's Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business by Francie Hinrichsen   Other Related Episodes on The Savvy Sauce Podcast: Being Intentional with our Health, Finances and Relationships with Elizabeth Dixon Simple Changes for Healthier Living with Leslie Sexton and Vasu Thorpe Pursuing Health, Not Vanity Before and After Childbearing with Blogger, Speaker, and Coach, Megan Dahlman Sustainable Health & Nutrition with Molly Pfleuderer and Ryan Parnham Rhythms of Renewal with Gabe and Rebekah Lyons Healthy Living with Dr. Tonya Khouri   Connect with us through The Savvy Sauce Website.   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)   Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   **Transcription**  Music: (0:00 – 0:08)   Laura Dugger: (0:09 – 1:15) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Duggar, and I'm so glad you're here.    If you are looking to start a business or side hustle, but you're not sure how to begin, I want to encourage you to pick up your copy of Dream, Build, Grow: A Female's Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business. You can find it at foundingfemalesco.com.    Emily MacLeod-Wolfe is my kind and brilliant guest for today. She's a nurse practitioner, wellness professional, and she loves helping individuals achieve their health goals in a holistic and practical way.   Emily packs this conversation full of practical tips, and she sprinkles them throughout the entire episode. So, I hope you enjoy learning from her now. Here's our chat.   Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Emily.    Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (1:16 – 1:20) Thank you so much for having me, Laura. I'm so excited to be here with you today.   Laura Dugger: (1:21 – 1:33) I'm thrilled for the opportunity to get to interview you. And just doing a little bit of research, I recognize you are such a gifted photographer. So, then what also led you to pursue a career in the health arena?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (1:34 - 5:05) Yes, thank you so much. So, first of all, with photography, from a very young age, I just started disappearing from family photos because I wanted to start taking them. And so I was blessed to have a couple of photography mentors, and I loved the ability to be able to capture someone and show them their worth and their beauty and give them maybe even an outside perspective of sometimes we can be so critical of ourselves and to be able to show someone their beauty and their worth in a photo, it was just incredible.   And so, I just have always, always been a people person and always loved really just showing people that. And then I started that and then it was actually my own health journey that ended up prompting me to go towards the health route. And so, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's and eczema.   My skin, it was just I just became a bleeding open wound at one point where I literally couldn't I would cry myself to sleep. My mom would put mittens on my hands so that I would not scratch at night. We went to doctor after doctor and no one could figure out what was going on with all these health issues.   And they just kept prescribing medications and steroids, and it was it was making it worse. And there was a point where I went and did like a UV ray treatment and for my skin and my skin with the hydrocortisone had a reaction to the UV ray light. And then I went from like already looking really terrible, my skin falling off to like a burn patient.   And it was just horrible. And so from that point, I had prayed and felt prior that I was being called into medical missions. My parents are pastors.   And so, I really had a heart to do medical missions and be in ministry. And I thought immediately doctor. But then after I saw a nurse practitioner and she asked me all the questions that the doctors were not asking.   And she was like, what are you eating and what is your sleep like? What are your stress levels like? And we did allergy sensitivity testing.   And oh, my gosh, I was my gut was so imbalanced that I just could not eat anything. And I ate I was literally eating chicken and green beans for like nine months. But my gut reset because it was so inflamed and allergic to everything.   And we did certain things to calm the lining, heal the lining of the gut and my skin cleared. And it was incredible. That prompted me to go on this journey.   I was able to get off thyroid medication. The Lord healed my thyroid and prompted me into doing medical. And so I knew I wanted to go to Vanderbilt and I wanted to be a nurse practitioner and do the traditional training.   But go into holistic, integrative kind of have the best of both worlds, the traditional training. But then the functional medicine knowledge and then integrate the two. And so that's why my practice is called pure integrative health, because it's kind of blending both.   And I still do both. And I still do photography because I just love that creative aspect. And then I like the right and left brain.   It kind of gives a little change.   Laura Dugger: (5:05 - 5:27) I love that. That's such a good point. And I've learned so much from hearing you speak about these topics.   But it seems like people are starting to pay more attention to gut health in recent years. But will you just start baseline? Will you define what it means when you refer to our gut and explain why gut health is so vitally important to our overall health?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (5:28 - 8:59) Such a great question, Laura. Yes. So, first of all, the microbiome, which is it's our gut is essentially all the different intestines that colon, large intestine, small intestine, stomach.   That's the gut. Now, the lining of that, we've got billions of bacteria, trillions of bacteria in the gut. It's the only organ that is constantly communicating like through the vagus nerve.   There is continual communication called the set. The gut is called the second brain for a reason, because there is a constant stream of communication. The gut can actually send signals to the brain and then vice versa.   And so, it is the precursor to I mean, if we can heal the lining of the gut and if we can heal and balance out, when I say microbiome, it is the amount of good and bad bacteria that are all in in the gut. And so, we want a really healthy microbiome, which would be we want lots of strains of good bacteria outweighing the bad bacteria, very little to or just like not pathogenic, bad bacteria. So how and what do we do to kind of balance those things?   One thing is the good and bad bacteria. We want so many different strains of good bacteria. Now, studies have shown that over the last 100 years, the number of good back just even strains of different types of bacteria, the microbiome diversity has gone down dramatically.   And what could be causing that is the introduction of antibiotics, because since the introduction of antibiotics, there are far fewer. Good bacteria strains that are even possible to have and cultivate now, that's what keeps our immune system resilient is the abundance of many different types of good bacteria. And so, then when pathogenic bad bacteria viruses, we get sick, then the body has a strong enough immune system and the bacteria can just destroy the bad bacteria much quicker if we have that.   But just antibiotics, the chemicals in the food, toxins, even America's gluten, because it is genetically altered. It's not Italy's, but really good stuff. It's all affecting you.   Alcohol, the lining of the gut and weakening the immune system. Not why is this so important? Anyone that has autoimmune issues needs to be paying attention to the gut.   Hundred twenty percent because 90 percent of the immune system is made and synthesized in the gut. And so, then if the gut is sending out unhealthy signals, it will send those things. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Hashimoto's thyroid disorder, just arthritis, anything with inflammation.   Yeah. So anyhow, all of those things, inflammation and it can be traced back to imbalances in the gut.   Laura Dugger: (9:00 - 9:23) And as you're sharing even what the gut is, just thinking food passes through all of those places as it gets processed. So, I'm assuming that I'm sure there's lifestyle factors as well. But is food the main reason beyond the antibiotics that are stripping it of the good bacteria?   Is that the main lifestyle change we can have is to eat a certain way?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (9:25 - 9:26) Great question.   Laura Dugger: (9:26 - 9:26) Yes.   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (9:26 - 14:25) So food is the game changer because it is true. You are what you eat and the foods that we're eating, some of them are just the quality in the food. We could get organic, but they're showing now that sometimes we're not even getting the nutrients from the soil anymore.   They're not putting the right nutrients in the soil that the food was even grown in. So we're not getting the minerals and we're not absorbing things like B vitamins are not even being absorbed as well. Into the lining of the gut.   It's not even there to begin with in the foods or they are grown, but sent across the country and then gone to a grocery store. And they are no longer like three, four, five, six days after harvesting the mineral content in our foods drastically drops. And so.   As much as possible, I recommend getting to know your farmer, getting to know local farmers markets, places that can really go back and get food that was just freshly harvested, because we're going to increase the chances of getting cleaner, more nutrient dense foods that way. That's one thing. And the other is.   Sometimes we can be eating foods that are healthy that could actually be causing damage to the lining of our gut. And what I mean is some of you might have heard something called leaky gut. Well, what is that?   And like, where does it come from? It's in the lining of the colon, large and small intestine, and the stomach. There are these tight junctions of the cells that just keep everything in the digestive tract as properly.   We need food to stay in the digestive tract. We don't need it anywhere else in the body. And so, if there's a stressor to the body, then it can be from toxins, chemicals, food additives, preservatives, pesticides.   It can start to wear. And like I said, genetically altered gluten can wear away at the lining of the tight junctions. And all of a sudden there's holes in the lining of the intestine causing food particles to leak into the bloodstream, which what is the problem with that?   And that can contribute to food allergies and food sensitivities popping up like crazy. So, for example, an allergy usually is pretty immediate. Most people know their allergies because hives, throat closing, etc.   Sensitivities present up to 72 hours after eating a food. So we're talking joint pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation. We're talking mood swings, depression, anxiety, brain fog, acne, psoriasis, eczema, all sorts of things.   And it can show up 72 hours after eating the food. So, all of a sudden playing a guessing game. Well, I ate eggs three days ago.   I was feeling fine. I ate eggs today and I feel bloated. Was it this or was it was it the broccoli or was it this?   And so then there's this and it could be continual exposure. Now there's more inflammation in the body because then that increases inflammation that can cause weight gain. And then there's foods leaking into the bloodstream.   It's going to weaken the immune system. So oftentimes with the intestinal permeability, we'll see heightened seasonal allergies are getting way worse. We'll see food sensitivities popping up like crazy.   We'll just see overall getting sick more frequently, all of those things as well. So I do highly recommend doing a food sensitivity test because, for example, I had a patient just last week who was trying to eat as healthy as she possibly could. And she was eating salmon, spinach and rice.   Well, we did a food sensitivity test and she came back to find out that salmon, spinach and rice were three of the top most foods causing inflammation, sensitivities and allergies in her body. And that was contributing to the inflammation and all the ways that she was she was feeling terrible, which is crazy because those are healthy, good foods. But the body, if there's if there's, you know, breaches in the lining of the gut, it doesn't start to recognize good food versus it's just it could pop up from eating the same food every single day or from from vaccines at a very young age that hijack the immune system and then or antibiotics from a very young age or.   Yeah, I'm spilling out lots of information.   Laura Dugger: (14:25 - 14:45) So helpful. I'm going to try and remember it. There's a few follow up questions.   Just thinking back to when you talked about eczema and skin issues, I think I've heard you say before that the skin is the last place where it shows up, where your imbalance and overall health will show up. Is that correct?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (14:45 - 17:06) That is correct. That is. Yes, exactly.   And so even a lot of skin issues are oftentimes an indicator of there's something deeper going on. Acne, psoriasis, eczema, what's going on? Eczema, psoriasis are autoimmune also.   So, looking at the gut is absolutely a game changer. I like a gut analysis. I will say with food sensitivity tests, they're not all created equal.   I have one that I do with my patients that checks for allergy, sensitivities and inflammation because some tests just test sensitivities. Some just test allergy and some will not.   There's none that really just test inflammation on their own. But how much better if you can look at all three and add them up? What foods could be causing inflammation, which is going to increase like almost every disease out there can be linked back to inflammation.   And then we can get inflammation down or be preventative. Maybe you're not feeling bad but just want to be on the preventative side. Great.   We want to reduce inflammation. And then the sensitivities and then the allergies. So IgE, IgG and then inflammation markers and the lining would be like the best way to look at everything.   And you want to pull them out, heal the lining of the gut best we can. There are foods, there's supplements and things depends on the person to exactly what is going on with their lining of their gut. But generally it can be repaired, which is great news.   It's like, is it forever? Is it like you guys? No, it's not.   It's just because the lining of the gut can regenerate in two or three weeks. So even two months of true two or three months of truly pulling out any foods that could be causing inflammation is just incredible because it gives the body the opportunity to finally heal. If it's not always continually having stressors coming at it from something that we can control.   Laura Dugger: (17:06 - 19:54) And now a brief message from our sponsor.    Are you starting a business or side hustle this year? There is a book I love, and I want to personally recommend because it takes the guesswork out of what to do next.   It's entitled Dream, Build, Grow: A Female's Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business. And it's available at foundingfemalesco.com with over 300 pages of proven business tips and tricks. Dream, Build, Grow is perfect for anyone searching for how to start a business from the ground up. It is written by Francie Hinrichsen, who is an entrepreneur and my personal friend. I've collaborated with her on work projects in the past and I can vouch for her work ethic.   She delights in over delivering to her clients with excellence and care. And if you're interested in getting to know her a little bit better, she was also a previous guest on The Savvy Sauce. So, I will add her episode in the show notes for today's episode.   Francie's integrity makes it easy to personally recommend her work. And this book is a download of her years of business knowledge and experience. I've read this book cover to cover and it actually lives on our special bookshelf that I reserve for all the books I would re-read over and over again.   And that I want to encourage our daughters to also read as they grow up. So, I'm so excited for you to get your own copy and begin pursuing your dream. Francie's book has already received over 20 five-star reviews on Amazon.   And readers say they loved the guidance on exactly how to gain clarity, save time, and build a business that works for the modern woman's lifestyle. Dream, Build, Grow: A Female's Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business by Francie Hinrichsen provides realistic, achievable, and step-by-step guidance to finally start the business you've been dreaming about.   You can also save 10% when you use the code SAVVY at foundingfemalesco.com. Thanks for your sponsorship.    Laura Dugger: And I'd love to eventually unpack how some of these symptoms may present, whether that's insomnia or brain fog, low energy, all kinds of symptoms.   But first, I think you've given us a little glimpse of hope, so I want to run with that for a moment. So, eating whole, healthy, organic when possible foods that are locally sourced. Then you mentioned supplements and this testing.   So what are those proactive ways with both lifestyle and supplements? What do you generally recommend?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (19:54 - 27:50) I will say that foods in general that increase the microbiome diversity, which is good, the good bacteria that increase can be foods like kefirs and sauerkraut and kimchi, the fermented foods. Even sourdough bread is more easily digestible because it is fermented. And so some of those type foods that are rich in probiotics.   So probiotics, the good bacteria. But then there's prebiotics. I'm like, you know probiotics maybe.   But the prebiotics are the food for the probiotics. So we really want to feed the prebiotics so that the probiotics can multiply. So what are foods that are rich in prebiotic?   Chicory root, inulin, like the greenish like bananas, like not too ripe, but greenish, closer to green. Those are rich in prebiotics. Asparagus, onions, leeks, garlic.   Those are rich in prebiotics. And yeah, and so increasing some of those foods can help fuel the probiotics and help them multiply. But I and then as far as supplements go, a really good high quality probiotic is good.   I will say not all probiotics are made or created equally. And I would recommend you that you that are listening to consider seeing a holistic practitioner that can partner with you to do like, you know, a gut test and a food sensitivity test. And then when you do a gut analysis, it's not super fun.   It's a stool analysis. But it looks at the lining of the gut. Like we talked about, it looks at bacterial overgrowth, looks at bacterial undergrowth.   Like, is there something that's growing that's that used to be good, but now it's overgrown and it's bad bacteria that needs to be killed off? We can figure that out. And then we can look at is their yeast overgrown in the colon that can be contributing to skin issues and frequent infections, different things.   And then it looks at like not all of them, but like the top 20 parasites. So, we can know, okay, at least we know which ones most of us have some degree of parasites. Unfortunately, I don't like to think about it too much.   None of us do. But just need to come in from anywhere and just need to kind of get that flushed out. But I don't recommend people just starting on parasite cleanses without like fully knowing what else could be going on.   Sure, we can assume parasites and could cleanse. But if there's other bad bacteria that needs to be killed off that is you don't know about, that could worsen the situation. Or there's something called small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, SIBO.   And that can be caused by like someone who maybe errs towards constipation. And so the stool is sat in the stomach and then it's backing up into not just sitting in the colon, but backing up into the small intestine. Now, that can present as eating foods and immediately feeling like bloated or waking up feeling really bloated and full all the time and don't know why.   A lot of gas, a lot of problems with constipation or diarrhea. In those cases, that's why I say consider a holistic practitioner to kind of partner with you. In those cases, feeding the probiotics is not a good idea because that can be overgrowing small intestinal bacteria or bacteria that should not be continually to grow.   It can make you feel worse. So that's why there's like a yes, these are really good. But also you just it's good to know exactly where your gut is at because not everybody's microbiome and gut is the same.   There's different pieces like mine. I was very sick at a young age and I had a lot of antibiotics when I was at a young age. I know that weakened my immune system.   I think that made me more susceptible to having eczema at such a young age and then that worsening. And then when you have one autoimmune issue, it's likely that it can continue on to another one. So then I had Hashimoto's, which is another autoimmune disorder of the thyroid, but kind of snowballing all having to do with the immune system and the gut.   And so the more that we know the bigger picture and figure out, OK, what stressors have been here and what do we need to do about it, then definitely helps with that. Oh, and something about the with brain fog, anxiety and depression. I just want to touch on the mental effects of the gut because that is huge.   So one thing is a lot of people have been put on antidepressants like Lexapro, SSRI, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors is what they're called. These antidepressants actually work more on the brain, which is not where we really want them to be working, because 80 to 90 percent of our serotonin receptors are in the gut. So dopamine, serotonin, melatonin, all of those really happy hormones that keep us happy and healthy.   There's a lot of people who haven't been diagnosed with anxiety, depression and been getting on these antidepressants and the antidepressant medications are not even working on the right organ. Isn't that crazy? So even in the gut, it's that's why a lot of the side effects of those medications are gut imbalances, because it's causing imbalances in the gut because of the gut brain access.   But really, what could we do if we can heal the lining of the gut? I have seen brain fog start to disappear because of bad bacteria or things that needed to be cleared out. I've seen more that you heal the gut, the more the thyroid gets balanced, the more that you heal the lining of the gut.   You can help heal the adrenals, which is just the way that body processes stress. That organ sits on top of the kidneys and vice versa, healing high cortisol stress hormones made in the adrenals. You could go back and heal the lining of the gut.   They're so interconnected, like each organ. And so anxiety, depression, ADHD. Oh, my goodness.   Kids with ADHD, I would say first thing, gut and food sensitivities. Check the food sensitivities, check the gut before going on ADHD medications, because there are likely mineral deficiencies that are happening, like B vitamins that are just not even being absorbed. D levels, different things that could be contributing to the problem that might not even be addressed.   Laura Dugger: (27:51 - 28:22) Well, and it sounds like the gut is the root cause of so many of these symptoms, but it's also very nuanced. And so seeing somebody like you would be ideal. Are there ever blanket statements that work?   I am thinking lifestyle, just how God created us to be outdoors and how that early morning light, that's kind of like a bio hack that helps all of these. Can you explain more about why that works or just any other things that would work for anyone?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (28:23 - 31:12) Yeah, that's great. So, one thing for sure is when you go outside first thing in the morning, you get 10, 15 minutes of that sunlight. The sunlight affects our vitamin D receptors and vitamin D is the precursor to melatonin.   So, melatonin is what helps us fall asleep and stay asleep. And so naturally increasing that melatonin so that it's funny, but you wake up that morning and then that night you're going to have a better sleep because of the morning sunlight. So, getting out even better is walking and moving because the more that we do exercise and that's going to increase the endorphins.   I know you've heard it before, but it's really true that if you exercise, it's going to increase serotonin and dopamine. It's going to give the body those surges of those things. And also in American culture, we're not moving enough and we're not tiring ourselves out physically.   I mean, we sure are tiring out the brain, but we're not tiring out the body. And so, there's this like discrepancy between an exhausted brain and then the body hasn't even had enough exercise. And then we try and go to bed and the brain keeps racing and the body's not as tired as it should be.   And so that's why also exercising daily and trying to get somewhere between that six thousand to seventy five hundred steps a day. That's like an hour of walking. I mean, you can walk around the house to that counts.   That's great. But just intentional walking and doing those things, that's going to help our mental health. And then weight bearing exercises are huge for prevention after the age of 30.   Twenties and the 20s is the decade in which well, teens and 20s, that is where we can build muscle. Lots of muscle can be built. And essentially after 30, it's just whatever muscle has been built will just continue to deteriorate until we die, which is unfortunate.   But that is why it is so, so, so important to do weight bearing exercise. It's not a doom and gloom. It's OK, let's be aware.   Yes, it's we're working against the natural decline in the muscles. That's why it's so important for prevention of osteoporosis, bone density, helping with sleep. So many things that weight bearing exercises one to three times.   If you need to start at one great work up to three times a week. Weight bearing exercises are incredible for men and women. It's good because it increases testosterone naturally.   Laura Dugger: (31:13 - 32:25) By now, I hope you've checked out our updated website, thesavvysauce.com, so that you can have access to all the additional freebies we are offering, including all of our previous articles and all of our previous episodes, which now include transcriptions. You will be equipped to have your own practical chats for intentional living when you read all the recommended questions in the articles or gain insight from expert guests and past episodes as you read through the transcriptions. Because many people have shared with us that they want to take notes on previous episodes or maybe their spouse prefers to read our conversations rather than listen to them.   We heard all of that and we now have provided transcripts for all our episodes. Just visit thesavvysauce.com. All of this is conveniently located under the tab Show Notes on our website. Happy reading.    It also makes me wonder just about hydration, sleep and stress management, too. How do those play into the brain gut connection and all of these symptoms?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (32:25 - 34:21) Yes. So, the sleep and stress, I will tell you that high levels of stress zap good bacteria from the lining of the gut. So, we can do the right probiotics.   You can do that gut test. You can do all those things. And then if there's high levels of stress continually exposing the body, it will contribute to just some bacteria will literally be zapped.   I've seen gut analysis where like the lactobacillus strains just fully gone. And that's what stress can do to our bodies. And that's going to weaken the immune system because we don't have all the different strains that we need to.   And so that makes us more susceptible for that. And then cortisol levels is melatonin and cortisol. Melatonin helps us.   It's a bell curve that helps us fall asleep and stay asleep. And then cortisol helps us stay awake. But if there's high levels of stress right before bed, then we're not going to be able to calm down, wind down and be able to rest properly.   So a lot of it with that lifestyle of our bodies need rhythm. We have to our bodies crave the balance of a rhythm and consistent schedule, because then the body can, you know, just little signals of I'm winding down. This is what I do.   My body needs extra help sometimes. And like, OK, it's winding down. I'm drinking some tea and taking a shower.   I'm meditating on the word. I'm not going to be looking at my screens too much because blue light really does signal the body to produce cortisol and stay awake. That's the blue light is the morning sunlight.   So, you don't want to be giving yourself screen time right before bed, because then that will be giving your body the signal to stay awake.   Laura Dugger: (34:22 - 35:01) That's fascinating, because I think there's even studies that show that blue light, I think approximately between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., that exposure to that blue light can even eventually lead to, I think, more depression and anxiety. And just how you're talking, God did not rhythmically design us in that way. And we knew we wouldn't have time to fit everything in.   So, I can't wait to have you back to discuss hormones. But as we're winding down this conversation today, if you want to package it up, Emily, and just share an easy takeaway, what can we start, stop and continue doing with this information?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (35:02 - 37:56) So, I would say I'm going to start with the morning sunlight, starting with gratitude. And I am a huge proponent of spending time with the Lord in the morning. And the physical aspects to our emotions and physical, spiritual, emotional is also interconnected.   So, like thanking the Lord, spending time in the scripture, quoting those things, truly physically changes our body. Like the scripture that says, renew your mind daily, truly has an effect on the neurotransmitters in our brain. Because 90% of what we remember is from the day before.   And then 90% of our thoughts are usually negative. So, if we're continually going on a trajectory, we're going to go downhill. Unless we are continually renewing the mind in the morning to truth, to scripture, to like, what does God say about me?   What does God say about my health? All of those things. So, so, so important because we got to shift the 90% narrative.   And we've got to shift what we thought yesterday to today. So, I would say, pair it with a little 10 minute walk in the morning. And I would say, do eat for blood sugar management.   We can get into this more into the next episode, for sure, because we're going to smaller, more frequent meals. And I'll get into why that is so important, but not skipping out and going, you know, five, six, seven hours. That was the blood sugar and glucose is going to spike and crash.   And then that's going to affect the gut, the hormones, and we'll get into that 100%. But the morning sunlight, taking time to really meditate on truth and scripture in the morning, and then cutting out processed oils. I would say that would be a really big one that we can start cooking with.   Baking it, broiling it, grilling it, cooking with whole, real foods as best sourced as you can control from local, if you can. And having a good protein source and then fiber, like a vegetable and a fat for a meal or like a protein fiber and complex carb, like sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa, something like that. It's going to give you more longer energy and lasts a lot longer than just eating fruit or just eating a piece of toast or just drinking a glass of orange juice.   Which is typical for American culture, but that's just spiking sugar and crashing it.   Laura Dugger: (37:57 - 38:03) Okay, so that's the start and stop. Is there anything to continue?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (38:04 - 39:20) Anything to continue? Continue with the working out and just being consistent in that. Because also, the more that we walk, we do workouts, exercise, cardio, mixed with weights, it is bringing oxygen to our tissues.   And I don't think most people think of it in that way. Most of us know a handful of our friends and family members, loved ones that have passed from cancer or dealt with cancer before. But we need to remember that exercise increases oxygen to the tissues and cancer cannot survive in an oxygen rich environment.   So the more that we are pumping our bodies with oxygen and getting it to the tissues, it's going to prevent a lot of those cancers. And it's going to improve cardiovascular health. And just walking 6,000 to 7,000 steps a day can reduce the risk of dying between the ages of 20 and 65 by 40%.   Just the walking part or cardiovascular events. So, I would say keep walking.   Laura Dugger: (39:21 - 39:39) That's incredible. Well, you are such a wealth of knowledge. And as you shared, even getting these food sensitivities and allergy and inflammation tests, is that something that we can seek from you even if we're living in a different state?   Or would we have to find somebody local?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (39:40 - 40:28) Great question. Yes. So a couple of different options.   I have an option, opportunity that I can. I would need to see. I do see out of state patients.   I just have to see them for their first evaluation. And then after that, we can do like a hybrid telemedicine. See you back once a year, that kind of thing.   So that's definitely an option. And then obviously in person will just work. I can order testing, you know, even to wherever it is needed.   As far as finding a local practitioner in your current state, there is a website, ifm.org. And then you can go to that website and find a practitioner. If you prefer someone right there local, then you can do that too.   But there's options. Yeah.   Laura Dugger: (40:28 - 40:30) Wonderful. Okay. Well, we will.   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (40:33 - 40:40) Pureintegrativehealth.com. That's the website, my website, that they can find out more information on how to become a patient if they were interested.   Laura Dugger: (40:41 - 40:49) Yeah. Wonderful. We'll link to those websites in the show notes for today's episode.   And I hope we all get a chance to meet you in person.   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (40:50 - 40:50) Thank you.   Laura Dugger: (40:50 - 41:07) Wonderful. Well, Emily, I've enjoyed this time so much. But I do have one more question for you because we are called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge.   And so, as my final question for you today, what is your Savvy Sauce?   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (41:08 - 42:45) I would say that my Savvy Sauce for today is the importance of eating smaller, more frequent meals centered around protein and never having sugar by itself. Including fruit, including carbs, always pairing it with protein and the order in which we eat a meal can affect glucose. Because if we can get the blood sugar controlled, it came out this year, type 3 diabetes, Alzheimer's, type 3 diabetes, sugar in the brain.   So we can prevent Alzheimer's, blood sugar issues, adrenal issues, thyroid issues, all of this getting down to the order in which we eat foods. And that is on a plate. If we can have the vegetable first, that's the gastric juices.   It gets it going and flowing. Then we eat the protein next. And that will stabilize and tell our body when we're full longer.    And then the carb. And that order, even on a plate, makes a big difference to glucose levels in the blood after eating. And so that, as well as just when we're pairing foods, we do not want to have the fruit by itself.   Have it with a little bit of protein, you know, a turkey stick or something with the fruit. It's okay to have, you know, treats. But just doing it with the protein is such a huge game changer.   Laura Dugger: (42:46 - 43:06) Wonderful. Wow. You are just a wealth of information, Emily.   And wrapped up in a very warm and engaging and likable personality. But there is so much more to dig into. And I'm so grateful that you've agreed to be a returning guest.   So, thank you for everything you've shared today. And I look forward to getting to host you again.   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (43:06 - 43:10) Thank you so much for having me, Laura. I've really had a great time. I appreciate it.   Laura Dugger: (43:10 - 43:11) My pleasure.   Emily Macleod-Wolfe: (43:12 - 43:13) Okay, let's see you next time.   Laura Dugger: (43:14 - 46:54) One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news.   And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners.   But Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a Savior. But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.   We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, would you pray with me now?   Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today, right now, is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life?   We trust You to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.   If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him. You get the opportunity to live your life for Him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason.   We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So are you ready to get started? First, tell someone.   Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible.   I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. You can start by reading the Book of John. Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ.   I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. We want to celebrate with you too, so feel free to leave a comment for us here if you did make a decision to follow Christ. We also have Show Notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to today's practical episode, #205. These are conversations with experts in fields relevant to caregiving parents. In this episode, Susanna Peace Lovell interviews Dr. Laura Froyen, who shares her journey as a parent and expert in human development. They discuss the challenges of parenting neurodiverse children, the importance of understanding different neurotypes, and the need for new parenting skills. Dr. Froyen introduces the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions model, emphasizing its accessibility and effectiveness in addressing parenting challenges. In this conversation, Laura Froyen, PhD, discusses the unique challenges faced by children with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and introduces the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) model as a framework for effective parenting. She emphasizes the importance of compassion, understanding, and breaking down tasks into manageable steps to support children with executive functioning difficulties. The discussion also highlights the significance of involving children in problem-solving processes and offers resources for parents seeking guidance and support.Connect with Dr. Laura Froyen here.Find Dr. Laura Froyen on IG here.Find Dr. Laura Froyen on Facebook here.Find the Balancing U Membership here.Find The Explosive Child by Dr. Ross Greene here.Find the Lives in the Balance website here.Find our first book from We Are Brave Together here.Find full episodes from Season 7 and clips from Season 8 on Youtube here.This episode was sponsored by Rise Educational Advocacy. Brave Together is the podcast for We are Brave Together, a not-for-profit organization based in the USA. The heart of We Are Brave Together is to strengthen, encourage, inspire and validate all moms of children with disabilities and other needs in their unique journeys. JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here.Donate to our Retreats and Respite Scholarships here.Donate to keep this podcast going here.Can't get enough of the Brave Together Podcast?Follow us on Instagram or on Facebook.Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.orgIf you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!Disclaimer

Please join us for “The (Re)Education of Schools: A Discussion with Katie Thornton and Justin Moorman.”Justin Moorman and Katie Thornton are veteran educators who are well versed in Trauma-Informed Practices with advanced training in the Neurosequential Model in Education, Applied Educational Neuroscience, Crisis Prevention Intervention, Restorative Practices, Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH), and Advanced Collaborative and Proactive Solutions. They believe kids do well if they can, and problems should be solved WITH kids. They look forward to sharing their passion with others to continue to help reform educational practices based on current research. Katie and Justin have launched the (Re)Education of Schools Podcast to give voice, advocacy, support, and professional development to other educatorsSupport the show

Hey, Heal Squad! On this Regular Guy Friday, Kev and Natasha unpack the emotional and societal impact of the recent LA wildfires. From harrowing stories of loss to inspiring tales of community resilience, this episode dives into how people are rising above the devastation. Kev also reflects on the leadership we need during crises and shares powerful insights on navigating change with hope and action. PLUS, they chat about the importance of proactive solutions in rebuilding cities, what history teaches us about resilience, and practical tips for staying grounded during uncertain times. Whether it's about lending a helping hand, rethinking how we rebuild, or finding light in the darkest moments, get ready to take on anything. This is your sign to rise above the noise and lead with purpose. It's not just about surviving—it's about thriving, til next week, Betches! Help Support LA Wildfire Victims: Master GoFundMe List Charities to donate to for LA Wildfires:  Baby2Baby https://donate.baby2baby.org/give/648067/#!/donation/checkout CalFire Benevolent Foundation https://calfire.foundation/donations/  California Fire Foundation https://cpf.salsalabs.org/cff-donation/index.html Pasadena Humane Society https://give.pasadenahumane.org/give/654134#!/donation/checkout  -- HEAL SQUAD SOCIALS IG: https://www.instagram.com/healsquad/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@healsquadxmaria HEAL SQUAD RESOURCES: Heal Squad Website: https://www.healsquad.com/ Maria Menounos Website: https://www.mariamenounos.com My Curated Macy's Page: Shop My Macy's Storefront AquaTru: https://aquatruwater.com/ code: HEALSQUAD AirDoctor: https://airdoctorpro.com/ code: HEALSQUAD Prenuvo: Prenuvo.com/MARIA for $300 off Sleep Number: https://www.sleepnumber.com/ ABOUT MARIA MENOUNOS: Emmy Award-winning journalist, TV personality, actress, 2x NYT best-selling author, former pro-wrestler and brain tumor survivor, Maria Menounos' passion is to see others heal and to get better in all areas of life. ABOUT HEAL SQUAD x MARIA MENOUNOS: A daily digital talk-show that brings you the world's leading healers, experts, and celebrities to share groundbreaking secrets and tips to getting better in all areas of life. DISCLAIMER: This Podcast and all related content ( published or distributed by or on behalf of Maria Menounos or Mariamenounos.com and healsquad.com ) is for informational purposes only and may include information that is general in nature and that is not specific to you. Any information or opinions provided by guest experts or hosts featured within website or on Company's Podcast are their own; not those of Maria Menounos or the Company. Accordingly, Maria Menounos and the Company cannot be responsible for any results or consequences or actions you may take based on such information or opinions. This podcast is presented for exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for preventing, diagnosing, or treating a specific illness. If you have, or suspect you may have, a health-care emergency, please contact a qualified health care professional for treatment.

In a city of millions, how do you make sure every voice can be heard when needed? Beijing has been practicing something new for the past several years and it's working. Through this smart system, citizens' complaints are not just listened to but acted upon. From swift responses to a smarter and happier city, how many more steps are still ahead? What are some other modern governance trends transforming urban life?

Uncover the transformative role of AI in I&D with Michael Bach, whose expertise ranges from I&D thought leader to, best-selling author to, seasoned IT and operations professional. Bach stresses the careful integration of AI to mitigate biases, underscoring AI's potential to innovate HR functions like attracting talent, conducting pay equity audits, and maintaining workplace accessibility. The discussion also cautioned against excessive reliance on technology without human intervention.Each week, All Things Work explores the latest workplace topics. Get the latest episode, along with additional resources and expert insights delivered straight to your inbox each week by signing up for the All Things Work newsletter: shrm.org/allthingsworkRate/review All Things Work on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Patty and Scott sit down with local chiropractor, Dr Isaac Montilla. Isaac is running for District 4 in the Leon county commission election. Isaac owns the Verity Health (three locations) Isaac is a youth coach for several sports and Leader of Safe Families - assisting families in crisis. He has a passion for our community and desires to give back!

Today our guest are Justin Moorman & Katie Thornton from Centerville City Schools & the (Re)Education of Schools Podcast. We talk to Justin & Katie about how they have integrated the CharacterStrong curriculum with additional resources like on-demand professional development to foster trauma-informed, restorative, and inclusive school environments. Justin and Katie share why trauma-informed care is crucial and we explore what this approach looks like in a high school setting. Check out the (Re)Education of Schools Podcast Learn More About CharacterStrong:  Learn more about the NEW Tier 3 Solution Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples Attend our next live product preview Visit the CharacterStrong Website Justin Moorman and Katie Thornton are veteran educators who are well versed in Trauma Informed Practices with advanced training in the Neurose quential Model in Education, Applied Educational Neuroscience, Crisis Prevention Intervention, Restorative Practices, Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH), and Advanced Collaborative and Proactive Solutions. They believe kids do well if they can, and problems should be solved WITH kids. They look forward to sharing their passion with others to continue to help reform educational practices based on current research. Katie and Justin have launched the (Re)Education of Schools Podcast to give voice, advocacy, support, and professional development to other educators.

In this episode, Tudor, along with Kyle Olson and Sara Broadwater, discuss the recent school shooting in Georgia. Tudor expresses her shock and concern as a parent, emphasizing the emotional toll on families and the need for deeper conversations about school safety, mental health, and gun access for minors. Kyle highlights Michigan's initiatives to address youth mental health and questions the effectiveness of reactive laws. The episode underscores the urgency of a comprehensive approach to protect children, advocating for education, accountability, and proactive measures to prevent future tragedies. The Tudor Dixon Podcast is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network. For more visit TudorDixonPodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Children who are quick to anger and lash out may be labeled oppositional or defiant. Ross Greene, Ph.D., introduces his Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model, which empowers caregivers to rethink challenging behaviors as frustration responses. PDA and ODD: More Resources Download: 10 Rules for Ending Confrontation & Defiance Read: The Facts About ODD and Attention Deficit Read: Back From the Brink: Two Families' Stories of Oppositional Defiant Disorder eBook: The Parent's Guide to ADHD Discipline Access the video and slides for podcast episode #515 here: https://www.additudemag.com/webinar/pathological-demand-avoidance-odd-collaborative-proactive-solutions/ Thank you for listening to ADDitude's ADHD Experts podcast. Please consider subscribing to the magazine (additu.de/subscribe) to support our mission of providing ADHD education and support.

We are taking a summer break for July to soak up a little summer fun with our families, so we are replaying some of our most popular episodes that are packed with information and inspiration. We will be back in August with new episodes to prepare us for the 2024-2025 school year. Today's replay first aired a few weeks ago during Mental Health Awareness Month. Maria Barrera helps us understand the need for a more comprehensive and relevant curriculum focused on skill-building and emotional awareness instead of reacting to students' mental health needs “after the fact.” Doesn't it make more sense to support “mental wellness” than to simply address “mental illness”? That's the idea behind Clayful! Join us to learn more!Maria Barrera is the founder and CEO of Clayful, a company that began as a way to address the mental health crisis in a more preventative way. Clayful offers supportive tools and resources to help students become more resilient and emotionally aware before they get to their breaking point. Maria is committed to addressing the youth mental health crisis, and her dedication to training a diverse mental health workforce and establishing partnerships with schools have impacted thousands of students across the country. Show Highlights:The need for more targeted interventions and skill-building in schoolsThe origins of Clayful to address students' needs during the pandemicThe challenge in supporting students with behavior regulation issuesLabels and language have POWER!The gist of CA Assembly Bill 2173: to change the language from “emotional disturbance” to “emotional disability”Clayful's work in destigmatizing the need for emotional supportClayful allows students to connect with a coach every week to develop a “protective layer.”The mental health crisis is here! We need to partner together to help as many young people as possible!Links/Resources:Connect with Maria Barrera and Clayful: Website and EmailContact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org Thank you for listening! Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:FacebookInstagram–We are doing videos on Instagram, so connect with us here and send us your questions!TwitterIEP websiteEmail us:

I refer to Dr. Ross Greene's Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model in just about every talk I give to a parent community. Dr. Greene's quote “Kids do well when they can” changed my life when I first read it about 15 years ago, and it remains as powerful today. So I was especially excited to welcome back to the show child psychologist and author Dr. Ross Greene to talk about how his problem solving model can be effectively used with very young children, even infants. If you are new to CPS, I highly encourage you to go back and listen to our first conversation for the show, where we explored this approach in detail. But in the meantime, in this conversation we delved into why it's crucial to shift from a compliance-focused approach to one of collaboration and understanding, even starting as early as age two. We also talked about how what we often label as a "difficult baby" is actually an infant struggling to meet our expectations, how using CPS can significantly enhance their well-being, and why we want to question the underlying reasons behind adult concerns — all of these are concept explored in the powerful new documentary, It's Never Too Early: CPS with Very Young Kids. Ross W. Greene, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and the originator of the innovative, evidence-based approach called Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS), as described in his influential books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Lost & Found, and Raising Human Beings. He also developed and executive produced the award-winning documentary film The Kids We Lose, released in 2018. Dr. Greene was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years, and is now founding director of the non-profit Lives in the Balance. He is also currently adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech and adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Greene has worked with several thousand kids with concerning behaviors and their caregivers, and he and his colleagues have overseen implementation and evaluation of the CPS model in countless schools, inpatient psychiatric units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities, with dramatic effect: significant reductions in recidivism, discipline referrals, detentions, suspensions, and use of restraint and seclusion.   Never Too Early: CPS with Young Kids (documentary) The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children by Dr. Ross Greene Lives in the Balance (Dr. Greene's website) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a busy, busy time of year as schools are finishing up! We wanted to get this episode in before the end of May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. Our guest today helps us understand the need for a more comprehensive and relevant curriculum focused on skill-building and emotional awareness instead of reacting to students' mental health needs “after the fact.” Doesn't it make more sense to support “mental wellness” than to simply address “mental illness”? That's the idea behind Clayful! Join us to learn more!Maria Barrera is the founder and CEO of Clayful, a company that began as a way to address the mental health crisis in a more preventative way. Clayful offers supportive tools and resources to help students become more resilient and emotionally aware before they get to their breaking point. Maria is committed to addressing the youth mental health crisis, and her dedication to training a diverse mental health workforce and establishing partnerships with schools have impacted thousands of students across the country. Show Highlights:The need for more targeted interventions and skill-building in schoolsThe origins of Clayful to address students' needs during the pandemicThe challenge in supporting students with behavior regulation issuesLabels and language have POWER!The gist of CA Assembly Bill 2173: to change the language from “emotional disturbance” to “emotional disability”Clayful's work in destigmatizing the need for emotional supportClayful allows students to connect with a coach on a weekly basis to develop a “protective layer.”The mental health crisis is here! We need to partner together to help as many young people as possible!Links/Resources:Connect with Maria Barrera and Clayful: Website and EmailContact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org Thank you for listening! Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:FacebookInstagram–We are doing videos on Instagram, so connect with us there and send us your questions!TwitterIEP websiteEmail us: admin@iepcalifornia.org

On today's episode, BCBA Jenny Sun Lai joins the podcast to talk about the professional journey she has taken as an ABA provider implementing neuro-affirming practices. She takes us through the history of ABA and how herself and other providers have evolved their practices, specificaly highlighting Dr Ross Green's Collaborative and Proactive Solutions model. I hope you enjoy this conversation! Jenny would like to highlight these Instagram accounts of BIPOC autistic creators: @autie.analyst @kaishawna_music @fidgets.and.fries @colorofautism @nigh.functioning.autism @angry_autist Follow Jenny on Instagram! Follow me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram!⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Link to my Ko-Fi ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠if you would like to support my work ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠My private practice website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you are interested in any of my services ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Merch store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Logo by Ed Magdaleno

The National Security Hour with Edward Haugland – In this episode, I focus on Israel's role in Cognitive Warfare, analyzing current dynamics with Hamas, China, Russia, and Arab nations. I offer strategic insights and delve into the existential threats to our Republic, freedoms, and Constitution. Learn about the tactics of adversaries and allies in this ongoing war between good and evil, freedom and tyranny.

The National Security Hour with Edward Haugland – In this episode, I focus on Israel's role in Cognitive Warfare, analyzing current dynamics with Hamas, China, Russia, and Arab nations. I offer strategic insights and delve into the existential threats to our Republic, freedoms, and Constitution. Learn about the tactics of adversaries and allies in this ongoing war between good and evil, freedom and tyranny.

In this enlightening episode, Rick Jordan, an acclaimed entrepreneur and business strategist, shares his invaluable insights on entrepreneurship, business growth, and personal development. Dive into Rick's journey from a solo IT consultant to taking his company public, and learn how he navigates the complex landscape of modern business.Key Points Discussed:Rick Jordan's Entrepreneurial Journey: Explore Rick's transition from an individual consultant to a leader of a public company. Discover the passion and perseverance that fueled his growth.Strategies for Business Expansion: Rick delves into his approach towards mergers and acquisitions, and how he strategically used them for business expansion.The Essence of Passion in Business: Learn why Rick emphasizes the need to be passionate and authentic in your business endeavors, and how this has been a cornerstone of his success.Challenges and Rewards of Scaling a Business: Hear about the real-world challenges Rick faced while scaling his business and the rewards that came with overcoming these obstacles.The Importance of a Learning Mindset: Rick highlights the significance of maintaining a student mindset, being open to learning from various sources, and how it has contributed to his continuous growth.Employee Incentivization and Contribution: Insight into Rick's philosophy on incentivizing employees, focusing on their contributions to the business's growth and success.The Role of Storytelling in Business: Discover Rick's perspective on the power of storytelling and repetition in effective business communication.Proactive Solutions in Business: Rick discusses the need for businesses to focus on proactive solutions rather than merely reacting to problems.Networking and Knowledge Sharing: Learn from Rick's experience on the value of networking and sharing knowledge in the entrepreneurial community.Conclusion:Rick Jordan's episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone in the entrepreneurial field, offering practical advice and deep insights into the ethos of successful business management. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned business person, Rick's experiences and strategies provide invaluable guidance for personal and professional growth.Connect with Rick Jordan:LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrrickjordan/Website https://www.rickjordan.tv/ Linktree linktr.ee/mrrickjordan LinksWebsite - https://successchampionnetworking.com/YouTube Video - https://www.youtube.com/c/GrowthMode Blog - https://successchampionnetworking.com/blog/ Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/SuccessChampionMentioned in this episode:Success Champion NetworkingSuccess Champion Networking isn't for the beginning networker. Success Champion Networking is for business people that understand building successful relationships is a two-way street requiring commitment from both people involved. Stop wasting time networking with people that don't understand how to leverage their network to generate quality referrals for you. If you are ready to...

Today, I'm talking about the central and arguably the most challenging idea for many parents to accept in Ross Greene's Collaborative and Proactive Solutions model, or CPS. That is, kids do well if they can do well, not if they want to do well. Come along as we look deeper and explore how to help our kids do better. Links:www.brooklynparenttherapy.comhttps://www.instagram.com/bkparents/Sources:Greene, R. W. (2021). The explosive child [sixth edition]: a new approach for understanding and parenting easily frustrated, chronically inflexible children. Rev. and updated. New York, Harper. Project Parenthood is hosted by Dr. Nanika Coor. A transcript is available at Simplecast.Have a parenting question? Email Dr. Coor at parenthood@quickanddirtytips.com or leave a voicemail at 646-926-3243.Find Project Parenthood on Facebook and Twitter, or subscribe to the Quick and Dirty Tips newsletter for more tips and advice.Project Parenthood is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips.Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.facebook.com/QDTProjectParenthoodhttps://twitter.com/qdtparenthoodhttps://brooklynparenttherapy.com/ 

Traditional parenting methods don't often work for children with ADHD. Have you ever asked either of these questions:  Why don't consequences work with some children?  What can parents do instead of these traditional methods that don't work?  Kim Hopkins is an independently licensed clinical social worker who has specialized in working with behavioral challenged kids for more than 25 years. She has managed the clinical departments of two organizations serving youth and families in residential facilities, foster homes, therapeutic day schools, and homeless shelters.  She has been a Collaborative and Proactive Solutions, which is CPS for short, trainer since 2007, helping schools, residentials, hospitals, and parents to successfully implement the CPS model from Dr. Ross Greene. Kim is also the director of outreach and communication for Dr. Ross Greene's nonprofit, Lives in the Balance.  In this episode, Kim shares tips about how to parent children with ADHD using the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions Model developed by Dr. Ross Greene.    Key Takeaways: [4:09] Why do some kids struggle more than others? [6:10] Why do consequences often NOT work, and what can parents use instead? [9:24] The first step in teaching kids lacking skills [12:55] What parents can do in the heat of the moment (An Explanation of Plan A, B, & C of the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions Model) [16:43] Summary of Plans A, B, & C [17:48] The 3 steps in Plan B [19:13] How long this system takes for families to incorporate [22:56] Resources to help families begin using the CPS Model [24:46] How Kim got started using the CPS Model [26:39] Kim's top tip for parents   Memorable Moments: “Kids who exhibit behavior in the face of problems and frustrations do so because they lack the skills not to. This is a skills deficit situation. A lot of traditional parenting techniques talk about it as being a motivation deficit situation. We don't believe that at all.” ”They [consequences] don't get the job done because they're not doing anything to address skills.” “You can observe their feelings. You can observe their behavior. But it's their thought process that if you had a little glance into would really position you to better help them.” “Pouring on empathy…can really help bring a kid back to baseline.” “The durable, problem-solving, skills-teaching piece happens only proactively.” “Nothing good happens in the heat of the moment. So…let's avoid you even getting there.” ”Step 1 is where you have the empathy step…Step 2 is the define the adult concern step…Step 3 is the invitation step where we're going to invite the kid to consider possible solutions with us that address what they told us in the first step and what we said in the second step.” “A good solution meets two criteria: it's got to be realistic…and it's got to be mutually satisfactory.” “Tune out the noise of all the pressure that people are putting on you….You know your child.”   How to Connect with Kim Hopkins-Betts: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/livesinthebalance  Website: https://livesinthebalance.org/  Dana Kay Resources: Website: https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ADHDThriveInstitute/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adhdthriveinstitute/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ADHDThriveInstitute  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adhd-thrive-institute/mycompany/  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ph/adhdthriveinstitute/  Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adhd_thriveinstitute  International Best Selling Book, Thriving with ADHD – https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/book/  Free Reduce ADHD Symptoms Naturally Masterclass - https://bit.ly/3GAbFQl  ADHD Parenting Course – https://info.adhdthriveinstitute.com/parentingadhd ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids Program – https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/packages/

In today's episode, I give tips for using Collaborative and Proactive Solutions to increase connection and trust in your relationship with your child. Read more: How to reduce your child's challenging behaviorProject Parenthood is hosted by Dr. Nanika Coor. A transcript is available at Simplecast.Have a parenting question? Email Dr. Coor at parenthood@quickanddirtytips.com or leave a voicemail at 646-926-3243.Find Project Parenthood on Facebook and Twitter, or subscribe to the Quick and Dirty Tips newsletter for more tips and advice.Project Parenthood is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips.Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.facebook.com/QDTProjectParenthoodhttps://twitter.com/qdtparenthoodhttps://brooklynparenttherapy.com/ 

Enjoy this special presentation from the first ever Whinypaluza Ultimate Marriage & Parenting Summit! Allana Robinson, CEO of Uncommon Sense Parenting is a registered Early Childhood Educator and Developmental Specialist for children with special needs, creating targeted behavior and intervention plans. She has spent countless hours reading the latest child development and behavioral psychology research and is certified in Pivotal response therapy and Shanker Self-Reg. Allana is trained in Relationship Development Intervention, Hanen Social Communication, and Collaborative and Proactive Solutions. She is also the mom to two amazing kids. Listen to this insightful Whinypaluza episode with Allana Robinson about identifying stressors that can impact your child's behaviors, and how to manage them. Here is what to expect on this week's show: What IS stress, exactly? How does it impact your daily life? What are rejuvenating activities and why are they important in balancing stress? What are the indicators of wellbeing and what drains or replenishes this? Oftentimes we drain our kids' energy tanks rather than fill them, which causes a crash or meltdown. Learn about the science behind behavior as it relates to brain development and functioning. The importance of consistency, predictability, and security in helping your child keep their energy tanks are full. How predictability builds trust. The impact of social stories and how you can use them. Implementing tools such as visuals and timers to build predictability in your child's day. How to prep your kid on what to do when they don't react well to something. How to aid your child in learning how to self-regulate.   Connect with Allana: https://www.allanarobinson.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/parentingposse/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/arfamilyservices Pinterest https://www.pinterest.ca/parentingposse/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1hxfXqPgziTFHjN1tEtXyg/live Follow Rebecca Greene Blog  https://www.whinypaluza.com/ Book 1  https://bit.ly/WhinypaluzaBook Book 2 https://bit.ly/whinybook2 Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/whinypaluzaparenting Instagram https://www.instagram.com/becgreene5/ @becgreene5 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@whinypaluzamom?lang=en @whinypaluzamom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine you live downstream from a factory that makes widgets. You keep seeing widgets in the river near where you live. Your natural solution to this problem would be to go upstream to the factory, make them aware of the problem, and insist or help them fix it.We don't do that with our children. Instead, to solve behavioural issues we often resort to spankings, detentions, timeouts, suspensions, even restraint.Collaborative & Proactive Solutions is an evidence-based model of psychosocial treatment that doesn't focus on kids' challenging behaviours but on the problems causing those behaviours. A solution that goes upstream, not downstream.Guest: Kim Hopkins-Betts, LICSW, Lives in the Balance Director of Outreachhttps://livesinthebalance.org/Dr Ross Greene Podcast on Apple PodcastsContact:thepersonalitycoach@gmail.com Kate's website Kate's book on Amazon  Kate on LinkedInKate on FacebookKate on Twitter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine you live downstream from a factory that makes widgets. You keep seeing widgets in the river near where you live. Your natural solution to this problem would be to go upstream to the factory, make them aware of the problem, and insist or help them fix it.We don't do that with our children. Instead, to solve behavioural issues we often resort to spankings, detentions, timeouts, suspensions, even restraint.Collaborative & Proactive Solutions is an evidence-based model of psychosocial treatment that doesn't focus on kids' challenging behaviours but on the problems causing those behaviours. A solution that goes upstream, not downstream.Guest: Kim Hopkins-Betts, LICSW, Lives in the Balance Director of Outreachhttps://livesinthebalance.org/Dr Ross Greene Podcast on Apple PodcastsContact:thepersonalitycoach@gmail.com Kate's website Kate's book on Amazon  Kate on LinkedInKate on FacebookKate on Twitter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this, the first of two episodes on rewards and punishments, Toria talks to Heather Lucas about moving away from the behaviouralist approach that schools have followed for years and more towards an approach that focuses on building relationships. Heather explains the three R's and really unpicks the importance of emotional regulation. If you would like to contact Heather or have specific questions for her, she is very happy to have people email her on bitesizedpsychology@gmail.com.Further Reading that may be helpful, some of which Heather mentioned specifically and some which further expand areas of the discussion:A Treasure Box for Creating Trauma-Informed Organizations by Dr Karen Treisman, (Volumes 1 and 2), Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London, 2021Restorative Practice, Building Relationships, Improving Behaviour and Creating Stronger Communities by Mark Finnis,Independent Thinking Press, Carmarthen, Wales. 2021Beyond Behaviours, Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children's Behavioural Challenges by Mona Delahooke, PESI Publishing and Media, Claire, WI, USA. 2019Brain-Body parenting, How to Stop Managing Behaviour and Star Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids by Mona Delahook, Sheldon Press, div of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, London, 2022Punished by Rewards, The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's and Praise and Other Bribes by Alfie Kohn, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, New York, 2018 (originally written 1993)Know Me To Teach Me, Differentiated Discipline for Those Recovering From Adverse Childhood Experiences, the latest neuroscience, applied and made practical! by Louise Michelle Bomber, Worth Publishing Ltd, 2020The Simple Guide to ... series (Child Trauma, Attachment Difficulties in Children, Complex Trauma and Dissociation, Understanding Shame in Children) by Betsy DeThierry, Jessica Kingsley Publishers London,  2021.Teaching the Child on the Trauma Continuum by Betsy DeThierry,Grosvenor House Publishing, Guildford, 2015.The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, and Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook, What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love and Healing by Dr Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz, Hachette Book Group Inc., New York, 2017 (originally written 2006)Video Clips mentioned:Stress, Trauma, and the Brain: Insights for Educators--The Neurosequential Model - YouTubeThis link is to the first of a series of short video clips by Dr Bruce Perry and is focused on the application of his Neuro-Sequential Model ( ie 'The Three R's') to Education. Each short clip has a slightly different focus so can be watched together or independently.Other relevant research based approaches are: Dr Ross Greene, Dr. Ross Greene — Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (cpsconnection.com)Dr Stuart Ablon Think:Kids : Dr. J. Stuart Ablon (thinkkids.org)Dr Daniel Siegel Inter-personal neurobiology, The Mindsight Institute, Various sourcesSupport the showIf you enjoyed this episode please share it with others and I would love it if you would leave a review on Apple, Spotify or anywhere else. The Tiny Voices Talk book is out now . Use the code ITL25 to get 25% off it until the end of 2022. https://www.independentthinkingpress.com/books/teachingskills/tiny-voices-talk/

We can learn a lot from history and luckily as humans we can learn to progress and right our wrongs, to be more ethical or helpful. In regards to caring for children, in the past we used restraint techniques when a child was displaying negative behavior and some were even paddled! In fact I was stunned to learn that, as of 2022 paddling is legal and being practiced in 15 U.S states. You don't need hard scientific evidence to know this isn't right. My guest Kim Hopkins joins me to talk about safer, kinder techniques we can use with our children to help them learn effectively. The topics we cover in this episode are:Old school restraint techniques and how we feel about them nowWhy do some kids have such concerning behaviors?What happens when kids lack skillsWhat is an upstream model?How being a parent can change you as a therapistWhy rewards and consequences don't work for some kidsThe great side of teenagersModeling and how you can use your power differently as the parent / adultWhat length of time does the modeling technique take? Resources you can discover from Lives in the BalanceHow Kim rests and recharges And remember, do not forget about yourself, take a few minutes for you and have a little fun!—About The Guest - Kim HopkinsMs. Hopkins is an independently licensed clinical social worker who has specialized in working with behaviorally challenging kids for more than 20 years. She has managed the clinical departments of two organizations serving youth and families in residential facilities, foster homes, therapeutic day schools, and homeless shelters. She has been a Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) Trainer since 2007 helping schools, residentials, hospitals, and parents to successfully implement the CPS Model. Ms. Hopkins is also the Director of Outreach & Communication for Dr. Ross Greene's non-profit, Lives in the Balance. Website - www.livesinthebalance.orgInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/livesinthebalance/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/livesinthebalanceTwitter - https://twitter.com/LITB_YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_vZVcW8jPRhoWy85a6yv8gAbout The Host - Janine HalloranJanine Halloran is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, an author, a speaker, an entrepreneur and a mom. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Janine has been working primarily with children and adolescents for over 15 years. She loves to create products and resources, so she started two businesses to support families and professionals who work with children and teens. ‘Coping Skills for Kids' provides products and resources to help kids learn to cope with their feelings in safe and healthy ways. It's the home of the popular Coping Cue Cards, decks of cards designed to help kids learn and use coping skills at home or at school. Janine's second business ‘Encourage Play' is dedicated to helping kids learn and practice social skills in the most natural way - through play! Encourage Play has free printables, as well as digital products focused on play and social skills.Coping Skills for Kids - https://copingskillsforkids.comEncourage Play - https://www.encourageplay.comInterested in reading my books? The Coping Skills for Kids Workbook - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook/products/coping-skills-for-kids-workbook-digital-versionSocial Skills for Kids - https://store.copingskillsforkids.com/collections/encourage-play/products/social-skills-for-kids-workbook Connect with Janine on Social MediaInstagram: @copingskillsforkidsFacebook: facebook.com/copingskillsforkids and facebook.com/encourageplayYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JanineHalloranEncouragePlay

Are you wanting a deeper understanding of your child's concerning behavior and how to help them do better? Listen in to learn a profound process to get them there. It's time to let go of antiquated forms of discipline such as restraining, secluding, or paddling children, and today my guest shares exactly what to do instead.  Click here for Show Notes and Additional Resources! What We Talked About: Helping children solve problems that might be causing challenging behavior Advocating for doing away with punitive methods of discipline such as restraining, seclusion, and paddling The 3 step process of Collaborative and Proactive Solutions developed by Dr. Greene A few of the skill deficits that our children need support developing Things to Remember: “When we view kids with an accurate compassionate lens, we are able to create interventions that actually work and work long-term.” “Children do well, if they can.” “Nothing good happens in the heat of the moment.” “Children are not lacking motivation, they already want to do well.” “Fantastic things happen when we work proactively with our children.” ― Kim Hopkins “Power causes conflict...collaboration brings people together.” “Behaviorally challenging kids are challenging because they're lacking the skills to not be challenging.” ―  Ross W. Greene, Ph.D. “When we invite children to problem solve, we are teaching them a life skill and nurturing the perception that they are capable.” ― Jane Nelsen “Too often we give our children answers to remember rather than problems to solve.” ― Roger Lewin Click here for Show Notes and more Resources from Jeanne-Marie, Your Parenting Mentor

Is your child more challenging than most? Do typical parenting approaches not work? We talk about how to parent harder-to- parent kids with Dr. Ross Greene, the originator of the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions parenting model, a non-punitive, non-adversarial, trauma-informed model of care. Dr. Greene is a clinical psychologist, former Harvard professor, and the author The Explosive Child and Raising Human Beings.In this episode, we cover:Why are some kids “harder to parent”?How does trauma impact a child's behavior?How does innate temperament or genetics impact behavior?What is the collaborative partnership approach?3 Steps to the Collaborative & Proactive approach are:The Empathy step – involves gathering information so as to achieve the clearest understanding of the kid's concern or perspective about a given unsolved problem.The Define Adult Concern step involves the adult sharing their perspective.The Invitation step involves having the adult and kid brainstorm solutions so as to arrive at a plan of action that is both realistic and mutually satisfactory…in other words, a solution that addresses both concerns and that both parties can actually do.“Kids do well if they can.” Kids are challenging because they're lacking the skills not to be challenging. If they had the skills, they wouldn't be challenging. That's because – and here is perhaps the key theme of the model — Kids do well if they can. And because (here's another key theme) Doing well is always preferable to not doing well (but only if a kid has the skills to do well in the first place).How would you apply this approach to work with kids who have experienced trauma?Is Collaborative partnership permissive parenting?Practical applications:A child who struggles with transitions.A child who won't accept “no” and tantrums or argues.A child who doesn't handle change and can't be flexible.TattlingA teen who disregards curfew or other house rules.How to deal with aggressive behaviors towards pets, siblings, or parents?This podcast is produced  by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:Weekly podcastsWeekly articles/blog postsResource pages on all aspects of family buildingPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamilySupport the show

When your child misbehaves, it is not because they want to do bad but because they don't yet have the skills to meet expectations. Kim Hopkins of Lives in the Balance (www.livesinthebalance.com) joins The Compass to discuss Collaborative and Proactive Solutions.

When your child is misbehaving, it is not because they want to do bad but rather because they don't yet have the skills to meet expectations. Kim Hopkins of Lives in the Balance (www.livesinthebalance.com) joins The Compass to discuss Collaborative and Proactive Solutions.

As a podcast host, I get approached by experts in different fields. And one of the fields I get approached by a lot are board certified behavior analysts who practice a form of therapy called Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA is one of the very few forms of therapy that are "approved" for autistic folks and in listening to and learning from the autistic community, many have outlined the harm caused by ABA to themselves and their loved ones. And while the ABA field as a whole seems to be working to change their practices and stop the most harmful of them, it is still grounded in a behaviorist perspective that can be incredibly dehumanizing. ​ On the flipside, I also have desperate parents reaching out to me on a regular basis who are looking for guidance and ABA is the only option being recommended to them, and I simply don't know enough about ABA, and how it is changing to, to make a responsible recommendation. It's a really nuanced issue and I felt the need to discuss it with someone who knew ABA from the inside, who knew how to look beyond behaviors, and who if all possible identified as neurodiverse. ​ Well, I finally found the person to come on and talk about it with us, so here we go! For this week's episode, I am excited to introduce Shani Mendel. She is a certified provider of Collaborative and Proactive Solutions and has formal training in the RIE parenting method. She is a neurodivergent adult and a parent coach specializing in transforming parents' relationships with their children. She is also a former Applied Behavioral Analyst. If you want to get more support for your kiddo, visit Shani's website yourconfidentchild.com. And, follow her on Instagram @your_confident_child.For more show notes, check out www.laurafroyen.com/podcast​.

Since she started her role as the Director of Education at Brook Lane Behavioral Services Rachel Hull has been on a mission to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion. Rachel applied for a grant from the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint to participate in a training program in the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions approach from Lives in the Balance to help in her work to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion.Rachel Hull joined Brook Lane Behavioral Services as Director of Education in August 2020. She oversees two Type 1 Special Education Schools in the state of Maryland. Rachel received her Bachelor of Science from Marshall University, where she spent time and played Division 1 volleyball. Rachel received the 2012 Honors College Award for Outstanding Service in Psychology from Clinical Research conducted at Mildred Mitchel-Bateman Psychiatric Hospital. Rachel then earned a Master's Degree in School emphasized Psychology.Rachel began her education journey working in education as a teacher for self-contained students with the primary disability of Autism. She then spent six years at the Berkeley County Board of Education Special Education Office, where she provided intervention services, programming, and eligibility involvement for students in the specific category of Autism and Behavior Disorders. Rachel worked with therapeutic intervention practices and was a CPI trainer. She also trained specifically in CPI intervention for students with Autism. She assisted teachers in developing student-specific interventions and classroom therapeutic environments. Rachel also coordinated and developed district-wide 504 plans as local Title IX oversight.Rachel is currently set to graduate from Harvard University with her certificate in Advanced Educational Leadership in Spring 2023.Support the show

For this episode, I talk with Dr. Ross Greene, author of the books Lost at School and Raising Human Beings. We discuss what schools are getting right and wrong about supporting learners with challenging behavior and an alternative lens for educators to view behavior in all learners. Thanks for listening, and if you haven't already, please give us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. *** Click here for the transcript of this episode. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Sign up for updates from MCIE. Credits Think Inclusive is written, edited, and sound designed by Tim Villegas, and is produced by MCIE. Orginal music by Miles Kredich. Support Think Inclusive by becoming a patron! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

My guest is Jessica Lahey, an educator, writer, and speaker, and the author of one of my favorite parenting books, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed. Jess shares her insights about how we can best prepare our kids for an independent, successful adulthood in the way we practice autonomy supportive parenting versus overparenting, what it means to let our kids “fail” to help them thrive, how we can help our kids learn how to “sit with frustration,” and much more.  Jessica Lahey is an educator, writer, and speaker. She is an English and writing teacher, correspondent for the Atlantic, commentator for Vermont Public Radio, and writes the “Parent-Teacher Conference” column for the New York Times.  Jessica earned a B.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Massachusetts and a J.D. with a concentration in juvenile and education law from the University of North Carolina School of Law. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two sons.  Things you'll learn from this episodeThe difference between overparenting and “autonomy supportive parenting"How many parents underestimate their kids and might be unknowingly fostering learned helplessness in themHow we can build scaffolding for our kids What Jessica wishes parents of atypical kids knew about teachersJessica's advice for how we can best advocate for our kids in schoolHow we can foster more of a growth mindset in our children, especially those who are perfectionist, as well as how to NOT foster “learned helplessness” Resources mentioned about the gift of failureJessica Lahey's websiteThe Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica LaheyWhy Parents Need To Let Their Kids Fail (The Atlantic article)Dr. Ross Greene Talks About Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (podcast episode)The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous and Smart About Money by Ron LieberAm Writing (Jessica's podcast)The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children by Dr. Ross GreeneJessica Lahey's speaking bibliographyWhen Children Say ‘I Can't,' But They Can, and Adults Know It (NY Times article by Jessica Lahey)Support the show

Join Kim Hopkins and I as we cover how to better support neurodiverse children and their families. Don't miss this powerful episode!  Learn about- ➡️ Challenging behavior ➡️ The why/where ➡️ The CPS Model, and ➡️ Plan A, B & C xx, Holly Blanc Moses - The Mom/Psychologist Who Gets It LEARN MORE ABOUT HOLLY - https://www.hollyblancmoses.com/​​ LEARN MORE ABOUT KIM & DR. ROSS GREENE- https://www.cpsconnection.com/ Want information on social skills? Parents - Get your free Social Success Guide Therapists - Get your free Social Success Guide Educators - Get your free Social Success Guide Want information on behavior? Parents - Get your free Behavior Detective Guide Therapists - Get your free Behavior Detective Guide Educators - Get your free Behavior Detective Guide You're invited to the group! Parents, Come on over and join the Autism ADHD Facebook Group for Parents Professionals, you are invited to join the Autism ADHD Facebook Group for Therapists and Educators  

In the wake of recent mass-murders in schools we find ourselves in a world that is confused, divided, and unsure about what the best solutions may be. The reality is that we are in a world where these acts of violence are becoming more common. It is time to start being more proactive as a society in protecting our children and other innocent people.  Co-founders of Dynamic Defense Solutions Jacob and Stephen sit down with Andrew of Pridwen Tactics to discuss proactive and realistic solutions to not only prepare for and respond to these terrible events but hopefully prevent them as well. 

During this episode, Mary Miele talks with Becky Reback who has been instrumental in bringing Collaborative and Proactive Solutions to Evolved Education Company. "Kids do well if they can" and "Doing well is preferable" lead children and adults into a trusting and lasting healthy relationship. Collaborative and Proactive Solutions teaches families how to identify concerning problems, speak about them in a way that honors the perspectives of all parties (children and adults), and solve problems collaboratively and proactively. If you are interested in learning more about the approach, email Becky@evolveded.com. Please click the button to subscribe so you don't miss any episodes and leave a review if your favorite podcast app has that ability. Thank you! For more information, visit the Evolved Education website at: https://evolvededucationcompany.com/category/podcasts/ © 2022 Mary Miele

Allana Robinson, CEO of Uncommon Sense Parenting is a registered Early Childhood Educator and Developmental Specialist for children with special needs, creating targeted behavior and intervention plans. She has spent countless hours reading the latest child development and behavioral psychology research, and is certified in Pivotal response therapy and Shanker Self-Reg. Allana is trained in Relationship Development Intervention, Hanen Social Communication, and Collaborative and Proactive Solutions. She is also the mom to two amazing kids. Listen to this fascinating and educational Whinypaluza episode with Allana Robinson about the stages of brain development and how they impact your child's behavior. Get ready to learn all about brain function and emotions! Here is what to expect on this week's show: Learn to name the emotion behind the action when responding to your child when they are doing something that you have issue with. Many parents don't understand the developmental progression of children which helps in how you deal with your child's behavior.  Meltdowns vs Tantrums- there IS a difference. What do you do in each situation? Learning to not take your child's behavior personally has a huge impact on your ability to get through difficult moments. Understanding the limbic system and how your child WILL pick up and feed off your emotions. Flexible Thinking and Executive Function skills- each child has different skill levels and can be taught to make up for any deficits. Practice makes perfect! Teaching your kids to take a break and reset when they are feeling overwhelmed. Kids can learn to self-regulate when we find the right tools for them. Learn about Plan B- helping you to understand your child's perspective before you start addressing what you see as a concern. Connect with Allana: https://www.allanarobinson.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/parentingposse/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/arfamilyservices Pinterest https://www.pinterest.ca/parentingposse/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1hxfXqPgziTFHjN1tEtXyg/live Follow Rebecca Greene Blog  https://www.whinypaluza.com/ Book  https://bit.ly/WhinypaluzaBook Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/whinypaluzaparenting Instagram https://www.instagram.com/becgreene5/ @becgreene5 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@whinypaluzamom?lang=en @whinypaluzamom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On todays Co-Movement Gym Podcast we have Paul Risse!  Paul was a Personal Trainer for clients on ABC's Extreme Makeover TV show in L.A., Personal Trainer, Chef, and Life Coach for "Average Joe on the Raw" a Documentary available on Food Matters TV. Was the CEO of Cleanse America where he led 10,000 people through the cleansing process over the course of 2 years. He created and ran a smoothie bar called Barefoot Market for 6 years, Ate 100% raw vegan for a couple years and lived off grid with no electricity for a year.  Paul built his own house with no experience and wrote a book about his journey called "Kinda Tiny Home, An Unorthodox Approach To Building And Owning Your Own Home".He has taken psychedelics around 1,000 times over the course of a decade and is nearly finished writing his new book called "The Psychedelic Christian". As a military child Paul has moved 45 times in his life and is currently a designer, project manager and builder with the Hayhurst Brothers. His business has been on the DIY network show "Texas Flip and Move" the past two years. And they have an HGTV pilot scheduled for a January release. Paul is married to a beautiful and brilliant woman named Brittany Risse and has an amazing 22 year old daughter named Kalee.His most recent endeavor is the creation of Line 2 : A Separate Conversation. Where he hosts events discussing Proactive Solutions for a changing America. Sponsors:   NativePath:Follow the link below to see all of NativePath's Pure Grass-Fed, Organic, Clean Supplements and use the CoMo15 code at checkout for 15% off! https://www.nativepath.com/ Lombardi Chiropractic: https://www.lombardichiropractic.com/ Mention the Co-Movement Gym Podcast when scheduling your initial appointment for 50% off Initial Consultation and X-Rays!  Suttmeier Law Firm: http://suttmeierlaw.com/ Mention the Co-Movement Gym Podcast for a FREE Initial Consultation! Reach out to us at info@co-movement.com or visit our website co-movement.com and learn more on how we can assist you in achieving your maximum health and fitness potential! Help us spread these fitness truths to as many people as possible by sharing this podcast with your friends and family! There is a lot of fitness information out there and we want everyone to know what really works! The information we provide in this podcast series has helped thousands of clients here in Upstate NY, and we hope to help you achieve your fitness goals too! Check out our Online Private Coaching at www.co-movement.com/onlinecoaching Check out our main website www.co-movement.com Check out our Video Podcast Clip on our YouTube Channel Co-Movement

On todays Co-Movement Gym Podcast we have Paul Risse!  Paul was a Personal Trainer for clients on ABC's Extreme Makeover TV show in L.A., Personal Trainer, Chef, and Life Coach for "Average Joe on the Raw" a Documentary available on Food Matters TV. Was the CEO of Cleanse America where he led 10,000 people through the cleansing process over the course of 2 years. He created and ran a smoothie bar called Barefoot Market for 6 years, Ate 100% raw vegan for a couple years and lived off grid with no electricity for a year.  Paul built his own house with no experience and wrote a book about his journey called "Kinda Tiny Home, An Unorthodox Approach To Building And Owning Your Own Home".He has taken psychedelics around 1,000 times over the course of a decade and is nearly finished writing his new book called "The Psychedelic Christian". As a military child Paul has moved 45 times in his life and is currently a designer, project manager and builder with the Hayhurst Brothers. His business has been on the DIY network show "Texas Flip and Move" the past two years. And they have an HGTV pilot scheduled for a January release. Paul is married to a beautiful and brilliant woman named Brittany Risse and has an amazing 22 year old daughter named Kalee.His most recent endeavor is the creation of Line 2 : A Separate Conversation. Where he hosts events discussing Proactive Solutions for a changing America. Sponsors:   NativePath:Follow the link below to see all of NativePath's Pure Grass-Fed, Organic, Clean Supplements and use the CoMo15 code at checkout for 15% off! https://www.nativepath.com/ Lombardi Chiropractic: https://www.lombardichiropractic.com/ Mention the Co-Movement Gym Podcast when scheduling your initial appointment for 50% off Initial Consultation and X-Rays!  Suttmeier Law Firm: http://suttmeierlaw.com/ Mention the Co-Movement Gym Podcast for a FREE Initial Consultation! Reach out to us at info@co-movement.com or visit our website co-movement.com and learn more on how we can assist you in achieving your maximum health and fitness potential! Help us spread these fitness truths to as many people as possible by sharing this podcast with your friends and family! There is a lot of fitness information out there and we want everyone to know what really works! The information we provide in this podcast series has helped thousands of clients here in Upstate NY, and we hope to help you achieve your fitness goals too! Check out our Online Private Coaching at www.co-movement.com/onlinecoaching Check out our main website www.co-movement.com Check out our Video Podcast Clip on our YouTube Channel Co-Movement

On today's episode we talk to Aliza Katz about parenting anxious children. Although I am not a parent myself, I recognize the pressure to be “perfect” and to have all of the answers. Aliza shared some ways parents can model working with emotions to their children, as well as some helpful tips and tricks when it comes to helping children work through anxiety and see it as a teammate instead of an enemy. If you are a caregiver, teacher, parent - this episode is for you. Aliza Katz is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in NY and NJ and is a Registered Play Therapist (RPT). She received her Masters in Social Work from the Silberman School of Social Work at CUNY Hunter College. Aliza specializes in trauma therapy for creative children, teens, and young adults. She's loved children for as long as she can remember. Their sense of wonder, pursuit of adventure and playful nature has kept me seeking out more interactions. She is trained in EMDR, ACT and CBT. and also trained in multiple methods of Play Therapy, including Child-Centered Play Therapy, Theraplay (Levels One and Two), and Sandtray Therapy. Aliza also trained in multiple parenting methods such as The Nurtured Heart Approach, Collaborative and Proactive Solutions, Parent Management Training, and others. To find out more about Aliza, go to alizakatzlcsw.com Aliza mentions several resources in the podcast, including her blog, which you can find here: https://www.alizakatzlcsw.com/blog/

It is worth unpacking the reasons why students are disengaged. Ask the question given an observation you have made. Be specific. “Hey I noticed you have not turned in your history work this week, what's up?” In this way, we allow the kids to present their perspective to us. Mary cautions against being vague in this line of questioning. Be SPECIFIC! Mary segues into talking about how adults can tend to make assumptions as to what is happening with a student and that by asking questions we can better understand and solve problems. She shares a personal experience with the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions program and discusses how it can help parents to unpack their own children's disengagement or lack of motivation. For more information about Collaborative and Proactive Solutions, email Becky Reback at becky@evolveded.com. I'd really appreciate it if you would click the like button above and leave a review if your favorite podcast app has that ability. Thank you! For more information, visit the Evolved Education website at: https://evolveded.com/ © 2021 Mary Miele

This week's episode starts a 3 part series on how to manage and MAXIMIZE your TIME as an entrepreneur. Learn tips and tricks to become more efficient in managing all the to-do's as you run and grow your business. Here are the resources discussed in this episode! (Some are affiliate links at no additional cost to you): Get it ALL out of your head! Getting Things Done, by David Allen. This book was life-changing in my productivity as an OT and business owner. TRELLO Project Management App. I seriously don't know how I ran my business before I had Trello. There are SO MANY applications for this useful tool in our businesses. I use it to organize everything in my life. Here's an example of some of my monthly lists for managing my business. Each card can be moved, edited, have attachments, checklists, notes, etc. Check out the short video below for how I use a weekly calendar in Trello. 2. Establish your top 3 must-do's each day. For me during the start of my business, one thing was SELF-REFLECTION. Here are the questions I used: What went well? (POSITIVES) What went wrong? (PROBLEMS) What will I do differently next time? (PROACTIVE SOLUTIONS) 3. Time block your schedule. Here's a link to a calendar-creation site that I use to create a color-coded time-blocked schedule each fall and spring semester. And here's an example of what my fall semester looked like: This was an example of an IDEAL week. I almost never hit the mark perfectly, but it served as a compass to guide me back to what I needed to do when I got off track! (And reminded me of priorities.) That's it for this week! Jump in and take action on one of these things to help you manage your time better! Comment below if you've used any of these strategies or have other tips to share!

Dr. Ross Greene served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years, and is now adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech and adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. He is the author of the influential, well-known best-selling books The Explosive Child and Lost at School as well as Raising Human Beings, Lost and Found and Lost in School and has helped to bring about an upcoming documentary called “The Kids We Lose.” He is a fierce and articulate advocate for the compassionate understanding and treatment of behaviorally challenging kids and their caregivers. Drawing upon vast clinical and consultation experience and research in the neurosciences, his innovative, research-based Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) approach – which posits that challenging behavior is the result of lagging skills (rather than lagging motivation) and emphasizes solving problems collaboratively (rather than use of motivational procedures) – has been implemented in countless families and hundreds of schools, inpatient units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities. The Collaborative & Proactive Solutions model helps parents, teachers, and kids work together to solve problems in a way that respects our kids while supporting them in improving their behavior. Dr. Greene is also the founder of Lives in the Balance, which aims to provide resources and programs to caregivers of behaviorally challenging kids, address the issues that cause many of these kids to slip through the cracks; and to promote practices that foster the better side of human nature in all children. The post How to Help Behaviorally-Challenging Kids Gain Skills & Solve Problems with Dr. Ross Greene appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.

Dr. Ross Greene served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years, and is now adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech and adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. He is the author of the influential, well-known best-selling books The Explosive Child and Lost at School as well as Raising Human Beings, Lost and Found and Lost in School and has helped to bring about an upcoming documentary called “The Kids We Lose.” He is a fierce and articulate advocate for the compassionate understanding and treatment of behaviorally challenging kids and their caregivers. Drawing upon vast clinical and consultation experience and research in the neurosciences, his innovative, research-based Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) approach – which posits that challenging behavior is the result of lagging skills (rather than lagging motivation) and emphasizes solving problems collaboratively (rather than use of motivational procedures) – has been implemented in countless families and hundreds of schools, inpatient units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities. The Collaborative & Proactive Solutions model helps parents, teachers, and kids work together to solve problems in a way that respects our kids while supporting them in improving their behavior. Dr. Greene is also the founder of Lives in the Balance, which aims to provide resources and programs to caregivers of behaviorally challenging kids, address the issues that cause many of these kids to slip through the cracks; and to promote practices that foster the better side of human nature in all children. The post How to Help Behaviorally-Challenging Kids Gain Skills & Solve Problems with Dr. Ross Greene appeared first on drrobynsilverman.com.