97: Healing from the Inside Out with Lynn Oberstein Feder

Foreign. Hello and welcome.

I'm Dr. Jen Simmons, a breast cancer surgeon turned integrative oncologist on a groundbreaking mission to transform the conversation around breast health. If you're seeking to redefine the way that you think about breast health, you're in the right place. Breast health isn't just an aspect of well being. It is health, integral and indispensable. Here on the Keeping Abreast podcast, we delve deep into the innovative ways to diagnose, treat, screen for, and prevent breast cancer. But it's more than that. It's about having the crucial conversations that empower, enlighten, and drive us all to a healthier place. As someone who has navigated the front lines of breast cancer treatment and now champions an integrative approach, I bring a unique perspective to these discussions with blending rigorous science with holistic health principles. Health is a journey, not a destination, and I am truly honored to accompany you on this path. Each episode aims to provide you with actionable insights and cutting edge strategies to take charge of your breast health and.

Your overall well being.

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Are you one of those people that seemingly for your whole life your health has just suffered and that no one has answers for you? And starting in childhood, you were sick, sick, sick, sick, and it lasted until adulthood and it actually lasted until maybe even until today and you haven't been heard and no one has been able to give you answers, figure out what's wrong or get you to feeling the way that you should feel, that you deserve to feel well. This is what my next guest life story is all about. She is a dear friend who for her life she suffered with illness after illness after illness and couldn't get answers until she finally met someone one day who opened up the world of health for her. And she took that invitation to health and ran with it and has created something so extraordinary and I can't wait to share her with you. So sit down, stay tuned and tune in because here comes Lynn Feder of Lynn's life. Lynn, welcome. I'm so happy to have you here.

Hi Jen. I'm so excited to be here. Such an honor. Thank you so much for this invitation. I just love what you're doing and so proud to be here.

Of Course, of course. Of course. And you know, full disclosure, Lynn is one of my nearest and dearest and closest friends. She's a new friend we only met a couple of years ago, but we immediately bonded over a lot of commonalities in our life. And God absolutely, positively meant us to be with one another and to be there for one another in what is arguably one of the hardest times that either one of us has been through. So I'm just so grateful to have you in my life. And I really want people, people to hear your story because I think there are so many people who suffer their lifelong not knowing how, how to get healthy, how to be healthy. They only know suffering. And it's because in the conventional medical system, and it's not confined to what's happening in the United States because you were not born here. I mean, you've been here for many decades, but you were not born here. So the world still has this paradigm where they are virtually unaware of how to create health. And it's only until recently that there is a significant population of providers who are awakening to, to the things that we talk about. So start us off from the beginning, because you really were sick even as a child. In fact, you have an, you have an amazing story where you were actually born with a bacterial infection. Isn't that right?

Yeah. There were two, five babies in the hospital born in South Africa at the same time. I was the fifth child infant, and at two days of birth they told my mother she needed to go home because three babies had had this virus and died. And there was one other baby, the fourth baby that was still alive. But they didn't see that this baby, they didn't believe this baby was going to survive, nor was I. So they sent my mother home and I, I was in icu and these parents, my father still cried about it until he passed away two years ago. He'd cry and say, I wish I'd found the traffic officer that got me to the hospital to you, because I was speeding when I knew my baby was dying. And I never got to thank this officer. But the story is the parents, the fourth child, infants parents brought in a pediatrician from the United States because I'm South African American, and they diagnosed the child and they ordered an antibiotic and it was coming in from England and it didn't arrive in time and the baby died. And these parents gifted that to me. So I was the only surviving infant with this bacteria infection that five weeks of five babies as the only one that survived. And I was in ICU for three weeks. Wow. Nobody, you know, this is 68 years ago. Nobody really found out exactly what it was all about. And, you know, I just, my mom always said that I came out of the hospital and she noticed that when she put her hand on my belly, my belly was never firm. She always used to say that my belly was never, never felt right to her. And so that's when the issue started.

Yeah. Isn't that amazing? I mean, we know now that. And of course you had antibiotics because you needed antibiotics. Right. It was a life saving treatment. And so I want to be clear when we, when we talk about antibiotics and the damage that antibiotics can do, if you need antibiotics, if they are life saving, which many times they are, absolutely, we give antibiotics. We don't withhold antibiotics because we're worried about the consequences when they're necessary. But when we criticize antibiotics, it's because they are often used inappropriately. I don't know what the international numbers are, but in the United States, the majority of the antibiotics are not used for humans. The majority of our antibiotics that are used in this country are used on the livestock. And they are used on the livestock because our livestock are raised in horrendous conditions and they get all of these infections. So they're given these antibiotics, which then when we consume the livestock is transmitted into us and does the damage on our microbiome. And also these animals that we're consuming also have damaged microbiome, so they're not healthy. Right. So we, we criticize it in that context. And we also criticize it in the context of. I know when I was in training 30 years ago.

People were your age. I did.

And you're younger, that, you know, we would write for antibiotics for people that would have cold symptoms. And this was very, very common, that if people came up with an upper respiratory illness, we would often give antibiotics in case there was a bacterial component. But actually, most of the time they were just viral illnesses which were unaffected by giving antibiotics. I remember one pediatrician who was very, very insightful, used to say, for kids with ear infections, if you give them antibiotics, they get better in seven days, and if you do nothing but supportive care, they get better in seven days. Right. And so it's not the antibiotics affecting the lifespan of whatever illness that is. However, every antibiotic dose that you have has a detrimental effect on your microbiome, and every antibiotic that you have increases your risk of cancer later on in life because it's having this detrimental effect on your microbiome. So again, Give antibiotics when you need antibiotics, give antibiotics when they're life saving for sure. You know, my kid has strep throat. Every six months he's getting antibiotics. But then don't use them unnecessarily. And we shouldn't have them in our food supply. Exactly right. Okay, so your stomach was never right, you never had. Because, I mean, actually people had no idea then about the microbiome, about the profound effect of antibiotics, and they had no idea how to kind of repair and reinoculate the microbiome.

Correct. And in South Africa, I think we were, I don't even want to use the word backward because that wouldn't be fair to say backward. But we weren't a society of medication and doctors as much as in the States. But then I still had to get someone to find out what was wrong with me. And then it became, I mean, I used to have gastroenteritis three, four times a year, you know, and I was hospitalized, I think I was 17, from dehydration. I'd been hospitalized before with dehydration just from gastroenteritis. But, you know, then again, you, you give something to stop it and then the body, it comes back again. So I sort of worked out, I think at an early age that I needed to find a homeopathic way to go.

Is South Africa more homeopathic than we are in the United States?

Much more, yes. There's much more awareness of homeopathic remedies. I mean, I used to take tissue salts when I knew I wanted to get pregnant. I took tissue salts the second time. The first time I was very ill with my first pregnancy.

Yeah, I don't, I, I don't, I don't know what you are speaking of. What are tissue salts?

Tissue salts were amazing. It's a Dr. Schussler from Germany and he has combination 12 and all these different. 12, all these different combinations of tissue cells. And what a woman explained to me once, I wanted to get pregnant with my second child, but I was really anxious because I'd been in and out of hospital with my first and they even offered to abort me because I'd lost £15 in the first six weeks of being pregnant because I was vomiting all the time and I had gastroenteritis with the pregnancy at the beginning, at the end, I mean, it was seven months in and out of bed and I was nervous. And this woman said to me, you need to remember that your body is made up of tissues. It's like a foundation of a, of a home, a Home is built on a foundation. If that foundation isn't set properly, you can get cracking walls. I'll never forget her saying this. And this is 43, 44 years ago. Yeah. And she said, you need to take something called combination 12 tissue cells and they have these tiny little pellets. Put them under your tongue and it replenishes the cell. And I did do that. And I did that for the entire pregnancy. I had problem at the beginning, but after that I had no problems with the pregnancy.

Wow.

So it was interesting. And when my sister had breast cancer, she was 41, she's now 71. She had been given a diagnosis. All her notes were involved. She had a 10 centimeter tumor and three, four centimeter tumors.

And she was told that's an advanced breast cancer.

It was really advanced. She was 41. She'd been sick for four years, misdiagnosed. And I remember telling her, you have to take the tissue salts. And she did tissue salts. She did macrobiotics, she did alternative. She went to a doctor in South Africa, Dr. Cook, who was homeopathic, and she did all these tinctures. Obviously. She had a radical mastectomy, had six months later, had to have the second breast removed. She's a walking miracle. Wow. She really is a walking miracle.

If I remember correctly, her diagnosis was a big inspiration for you.

Yes. I became very involved with living beyond breast cancer at the time in Philadelphia with Mariezel Weiss, because I lived in Philly and I thought, I need to find a way of supporting my sister and other people with breast cancer. It's very dear to my heart. And my sister, as I say, she's 71, she's a miracle.

So when did your health start to turn around? Because you really did struggle with lifelong health issues. Explain some of the symptoms that you, that you had. I know that you had irritable bowel syndrome. So you, you had stomach troubles your whole life, but what else? Because there was more. You had more than just stomach troubles.

I, I really had started off with the stomach troubles, then I started with pneumonia one day and I broke my ribs through the coughing. And then I had legionnaires disease at 21, and nobody could diagnose with me with that. And then eventually, strangely enough, there were five people in South Africa with legionnaires and I landed up being one of them. I don't know why this number five always comes up. It really does. And after that, I came to the States when I was just 26. I had two babies. I had a six week old baby and a two and a half year old. And things got worse for me here. I don't know if it was the food. I think the food was cleaner than South Africa. Even though I had problems, I came here. Sinus infections. I had pneumonia and pleurisy for 30 years. Every year I used to get five to six sinus infections. When my sister actually had a mastectomy, I landed up with perigarditis that day. And I woke up with this terrible pain in my left side, not knowing that she had just had her breasts removed because she went into a biopsy and had a radical mastectomy.

Wow.

We were. We very connected, my older sister and I. And I was so frustrated with the stomach pain. Oh, my gosh. I had an art gallery in Philly. And I remember at times I'd actually crawl, literally crawl out of the gallery to get in my car to get home and go home. And the only thing that would help is me getting into a bathtub with warm soap, trying to take the pain out of my stomach. And I went through that for years, absolute years. I came here when I was 26. At 57, I had Dr. Linda Tao, who's with the Morrison center in New York, who met with me. She wasn't in private practice then, and she had a practice in Chinatown. And she saw me and she held my hand and said, how did you get through 57 years of your life? Because I really was a ping pong ball. I was tossed from one doctor to the other. Told me it was all in my head, there was nothing wrong with me.

I think that happens more often than not because when doctors get stumped and frustrated, they just dismiss. Right. It's all in your head.

Well, that. And if you don't have a specific reason for going to them, it's. It's almost like it's too departmentalized that. Yeah. If you, if you have a stomach problem, go to your GI doctor for your stomach. If you, if you have something. But if you go with someone, I've got mast cell disorder, Pneumia, POTS disease.

Irritable bowel, leaky gut, sinus problems.

Sinus problems. They don't know.

Fluorisate. Yeah. So if you're.

If you're.

If you're bleeding over into someone else's space, they don't know what to do with you. Right.

You.

You are that. You're absolutely right. We are very siloed. We are very compartmentalized. And everyone thinks, well, you know, I'll. I'll address maybe your gut problems, even Though they didn't and couldn't address your gut problems. But I'll address your. You come to me for your gut problems, you go to the cardiologist for your heart problems, you go to the pulmonologist for your lung problems, you go to the ear, nose, and throat doctor for your sinus problems. And no one's talking to one another because no one has expertise really, in anyone else's space. Gone are the generalists until the functional medicine movement came onto the scene, because that is really bringing back the generalist.

Absolutely. And the source. We need to get back to the source. What is the root cause of everything?

Yeah.

And that. And that's huge. And it's hard to find the right person. And then, you know, it took me 57 years.

So what did you learn from Linda Tao? And tell us, like, what was the visceral response to when you were first and finally heard.

I'll never forget this lady. She. I mean, I'm still such a close friend of her. I adore her. She took my hand and she held my hand, and she said, how have you got through the last 57 years of your life? And I said, you know what? You get up, there's always somebody worse than you. And, you know, the grass always looks like it's green on the other side of the fence. You make your braid, your line, it's. Make it work. That's how I was raised. Don't complain. Get up. There's somebody worse than you. So I got up and I did it. And in a way, I think I achieved so much more because of it, because I just had to get up and do things, you know? And she. She said to me, you have been let down. You have been really let down. No one's had your back, and I've got your back for you. And I've been with her ever since. And I went off all gluten, dairy, grain. She helped me. She did a lot of blood work. Again, I take a lot of vitamins, but I don't take vitamins for the sake of taking vitamins. I take vitamins because my body needs that. You know, a lot of people don't realize. You just, I'll take a multivitamin. I'll take this and everything. I think you put more stress on your body when you take things without needing that.

Absolutely. But what's really the issue with you and why you may have more nutrient need than most is you spent 50 some years in malabsorption. Your body had to, again, learn from the beginning how to absorb nutrients because the lining of your gut was so dysfunctional, which is why you were sick over and over and over again because you didn't have what you need, and you couldn't get what you needed because you had so much dysfunction. How much of a role do you think. Your gluten intolerance, your dairy intolerance, how much of a role do you think that played?

Oh, my gosh. Within seven days. Even now when I talk, I always. I'm so grateful that I can feel air in my lungs. Eleven years ago, and my whole life, I'd never felt egg go into my lungs.

You always felt, like, trapped, like you. You couldn't get what you needed.

I was wheezing. I couldn't, you know, coughing. I. I've broken my ribs so many times just from coughing because of the pneumonias, the pleurisies, the. I just never felt air in my lungs. So I'd say in seven days, I didn't have the excruciating stomach pain. But, Jen, I also went totally cold turkey when I also had a nutritionist, Jerry Brewster, help me. And I took everything off my shelves. I came into our home, and I said to my husband, I'm so sorry, but everything's got to go. No gluten, no dairy, no grain, no sugar. Finish gone. Because it was toxic for me.

Yeah. Most people are not able to do that. Most people are not able to do the cold turkey thing. What do you think allowed you to do that? Do you think that that is your inherent personality? Or do you think you were just in so much pain that you were ready to make that drastic change?

I sick of being sick. Sick of being sick. And when I help people, I say that to them. If you're not sick of being sick, it's going to be a challenge for you. I never, ever cheat. Never. Okay. We go on safaris in South Africa where the food is exceptional and it's clean. It's probably much cleaner than food. Yeah. My sister said that she has gut issues. She has issues as well. And she says, well, let me just have some of this cheesecake. I'm only going to have a teaspoon. Have some. No way. I won't do it. Yeah, I won't.

Because, I mean, unfortunately, your sister has the same genetics you do, so she probably has the same sensitivity.

And we do. Yeah. We have EDS in our family as well. So, yes, there's a lot of genetics going on. And, yes, I won't cheat.

Yeah, I'm the same way. I totally get It. I totally hear you. And it's the same for me where, like, if I cheat, you know, it's not. It's not just like, I'm gonna gain a little weight or something like that. It's that I'm gonna be brain dead for days. I'm gonna be uncomfortable, I'm gonna be in pain, my hands don't work, my wrists are aching like it's. My body will not tolerate it. So I don't even. I don't do it.

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. I think. I think it's. I don't want to say it's easy, because I think it's a mindset and the benefits so outweighing, staying in an old habit when you know it doesn't serve you.

Yeah, but it's.

It's a transition.

But you've been doing it for a long time now. I've been doing it for a long time now. It feels easy to me now.

Totally.

But. But we agree that for most people, there are roadblocks, and for most people, there are deal breakers. And one of those deal breakers is Brett. And you have a fascinating story. So I want to go back to the time when, before we had our mutual Best friend, Dr. Kellyann.

Yes.

You went on the bone broth diet.

Correct.

Tell me about the bone broth diet. What it did for you and then what it led to.

Yeah.

So why did you do the bone broth diet, by the way?

A friend of mine told me about it. Her name's Zena. And she told me, and I'm like, I was looking to this. So I used to watch Dr. Kellyanne all the time, and I used to say to myself, well, she seems really genuine, and she knows what she's talking about, and I'll watch her. So I think it took about seven months, and Zena kept saying to me, I promise you, it will help your gut even more. And it helps with rheumatoid, with arthritis and everything. I mean, I was much better than what I was, but I was still getting certain things going on with my body, you know, aches and pains and everything else. Said, okay, fine, I'll try the bone broth diet. And I did. And it was. I felt like a different person on it. I did get my energy back. I. My body was under a lot of stress, and therefore, your cortisol levels are high, and that creates a lot of problems anyway, you know, and I don't naturally detoxify, so there. There's a lot of, you know, circumstances that go on with my body. But the bone broth really made me feel good. And so people would say, what are you doing? And I walk and talk. If I like something, I tell everybody. I love sharing. I don't hide secrets. I give secrets out. And I told everybody about the bone broth diet.

And specifically we're talking about Dr. Kellyanne Petrucci.

Dr. Kelly. Yes.

Bone broth diet.

So I had a group through my. I hate the word stepdaughter. I've got my husband's daughter who's divine. She one day said, all right, she'll put together a group. So we had a group of about.

55 people, and let's mention her by name because she's done some remarkable things, too. She has beautiful, beautiful business, which is both in New York and la. Elise Walker.

That's right.

Yeah.

So it is.

So she gathered her friends.

So she gathered. And I sort of.

Is her health. Is her health good? Was she just doing this to. To. To be better?

Yeah. Okay, so we did. So I did this group and everyone was in la. And I'm not charging. I'm just doing it from my heart. And I get the message. I, I want bread. I want a slice of bread. I want a glass of wine. And I'm saying, no, no, that doesn't work. I'm asking you for three weeks to get off all gluten, dairy, grain, booze, everything. You've got to just give your body time to repair itself. Takes 21 days for your cells to repair themselves. I mean, I read all this. I knew what I was doing at this stage. And so one day Lee said to me, I really want to meet Dr. Kellyanne. Okay, fine, Like, Like I knew her. I didn't know her. So I look on Instagram and I send her a message on a Sunday. And 10 minutes later, hi, Lana, I'll be happy to meet you. Well, that was Kellyanne. So she met Elise, and I can't remember if my daughter Taryn came with as well. Anyhow, we went to meet her and she was lovely. And during this time, I was consulting with her support group on what does a bread have to consist of in order for it to qualify for a fat or something allowed on the bone broth diet. And I thought, these women are going to drive me mad about bread. But I also will tell you, if I could have breads, desserts, and salads and soup, I'd be happy, too. So I thought, fine, I'm going to deliver bread. And I remember growing up that you used to get the truck, the bread truck. Arriving and you could smell the fresh bread on this truck that would be delivered to our house and the milk would come as well. I mean, in South Africa a long time ago and there was something called.

Nutty, we used to get bread and milk delivered.

Oh, you did?

Yeah, glass bottles. And they used to leave the carrier outside of the door and then, you know, when they would come back for the next one, they would take the old carrier, bring us a wine.

Yeah, yeah, that's what they did there too.

So they miss those days. Although I don't know what they would deliver now. Like, would they deliver almond milk and pistachio milk and walnut milk? Like, I don't know.

Who knows? They could have little machines making it on the way.

And Lynn's life bread. I mean, I was going to say.

Hold on, I'll have a food truck. Yeah, I've always wanted one. So I wanted a bread that had texture and smell. And again, Those were the things I really miss are the breads, the crackers, the bagels. Oh, my God. Bagel. Who wants a bagel? Who doesn't want a bagel?

Who doesn't want a bagel?

Oh. Oh my God. They sit sitting here smelling. I have to show. I baked my bagels this morning. So what I'm. So what I did is I started with different ways of producing everything that would just be seeds.

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So you were just tinkering around in the kitchen.

Tinkering, Tinkering.

And you were tinkering around for the purposes of like meeting the needs of this group, because the only way you were going to get this group through is if you gave them something to substitute for bread, because that's what they were crying out the most for. Right. But also, you have a daughter who has pretty significant health challenges. This was about developing something for her too, wasn't it?

Right. She also has the gut issues. So, yes, we all, we all are. Yeah. It's all associated texture. She doesn't like certain textures and foods as a child. She didn't like them as an infant. She didn't like certain things. Digestive issues. So I was like, okay, well, I'm going to try. And I remember taking little glass jars, mason jars, and filling all these jars with the mix because at first I was baking it for everybody and there was a commercial in the.

But how did you even come up with this formula? Like, what did you, what did you start to combine? What did you put together? Are you, are You a baker at heart? Like, if someone told me to bake a cake, they would be like, sol, I cannot bake a cake. It's not my skill set. Right.

To make the bread, I can cook.

A delicious dinner, but if you ask me to make a scratch cake or anything that has to do with baking, I can't do that. It's just not. It's not in my skill set. Is this in your skill set? Did we. Did we tap into what was already there?

Yeah. I think I grew up with my mom and my sisters. We always sat with my mom, and we always baked, and we always did things. And I remember I was 19, and I just come out of hospital with stomach virus. I had at this time. They thought I had hepatitis. And I'd just been in hospital. I came out, and I had a boyfriend at the time, and his friends were coming for dinner. And I remember going to my mother and saying, I want crepe suzettes. I want this. I want everything. And I think. And she put a cookbook down on the table, and she said, I'm sorry, I can't be here today. And she left. And she's British. She's very British accent. I'm leaving now. And I'm like, great, you're leaving me to make crepe suzettes and all these things that I planned on this menu, you know? And all of a sudden, I was like, well, I better start cooking. And I made the dish. So I think we've always been exposed to cooking. My mom, well, she's 97 now. She doesn't cook. But up until two years ago, she was still cooking. Yeah. So, yes, I think we grew up in South Africa. It wasn't in my time. It really wasn't a takeout country. People did home cooking well, I think.

In this country, we really did until the 1950s, where we became the nation of convenience. Right. And it became a status symbol and a flex. Right.

Right.

I'm too busy to cook.

Right.

It's not worth my time.

South Africa only started turning that around, I'd say 15 years ago, not 20 years ago. Not as heavily as we are here.

Yeah. Yeah. It's a shame.

We.

We need to. I. I think the pendulum is swinging back. Maybe not fast enough, because we really do need to shift that pendulum back, and we need to consume most of our food from things that we are making at home. Because no one outside of your home, except for you, Lynn, is making these foods with love and care and attention to health and nurturing. Right. Like that's not what's happening when someone is making your food somewhere else. Someone that's making your food somewhere else is most likely doing it for a paycheck and can't wait to get the hell out of there. Right.

Energetically. That goes to your food.

Yeah, it does.

It's an energetic component. But anyhow, I made these little jars and then I was sending people to make because of this commercial back in the 80s. It's time to make the donuts. And the guy would get up at 5. Do you remember that? Yes, of course.

And I'm like, I still say that.

Me too. And of course I still get out of bed in the morning. I'm not making these damn breads. I'm going to make them into mixes. And that's how I transformed.

Yeah.

You know, when trans. Trans, what's, what's the word I'm looking for?

Yeah, trans. Yeah.

Transform into the bread mixes. Okay. And I want people to realize that bread is one of the most toxic things on the market. It is the most destroying gut food you can eat.

Yeah.

Am I right?

Yeah.

And so guess what? It's made in a packet.

Well, your bread is made in a packet. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. And technically it sees. And. And I just feel, Jen, that my, my illnesses, if you want to call them illnesses, have turned into my gift. And it's a gift of helping others. And I want to help parents and people realize that you really need to know what you're feeding your kids because their bodies are so young and they sponges and they eating all these fast food donuts and everything else that's not going to serve them later on. And it's not till later on that we really come up with all the problems. But you can do it. But I want to create a recipe book for kids geared with the best foods you can eat for people with intolerances and sensitivities. My breads are nut free. They don't have nuts. I help kids. These kids. I've helped a child with autism, but.

They'Re also grain free.

They grain, gluten, dairy, grain, a whole lot. And it's all organ and they're all raw seeds. And the texture helps kids with autism. With my daughter, with her sensitivity, she's not autistic, but the sensitivity of her palates, this, this happened to just come into play when you say people can't bake. And that's the science. And it's Mark Hyman who calls me the kitchen scientist.

I know, I want to tell that story. I was just going to lead into that story.

Yeah, he calls me the kitchen scientist. And it really, I think that when you're not baking with flour and butter and dairy products and baking powders and all these raising agents and everything else that mostly have corn starch, potato starch, rice starch, and.

Well, and potassium bromide. Right. Which is a huge, huge issue. I just want to. I just want to mention that because we are living in a society that is plagued with being overweight, being obese, plagued with thyroid disease, plagued with breast cancer. And when you're consuming these preservatives like potassium bromide, that is replacing iodine in. In your. In your hormones, in your cells, and this is where a lot of dysfunction is coming from. And it goes totally unrecognized. It's flying under the radar, and yet we're really suffering. So when you eliminate bread from your diet, you actually, I don't want to say cure, but you. You make a lot of things better. A lot of things better. And the bread making process in, at least in this country, because there are a lot of people who go to Europe and eat bread and have no problems at all. But the bread making process in this country, in the United States is an adulterated process. It's an abbreviated process. So whereas in the rest of the world, they're taking 24 to 48 hours, allow their dough to rise, all the gluten gets digested. They're using a far more. A far higher quality base. You know, they're using Einkorn wheat, and they're using ancient grains, whereas we're using dwarf wheat, which is a GMO product. But we're also putting preservatives in there that are robbing us of our essential nutrients. And then we wonder why we're so sick. We're so sick because we are not giving our bodies the fuel that it needs. And beyond that, we're giving our body things that are robbing it of what it needs. And this is a huge problem. So you come up with this brilliant solution, right? You come up with this bread for your. For your bone broth group. What did Dr. Kellyanne think of the bread?

Did you.

Did you get.

Loves it. She. Oh, my God. Kellyanne, just take her. She loves the cinnamon strawberry bread.

Oh, me too. My favorite.

The Coconut Crunchy Crisp. The Crunchy Coconut Crisp. I mean, you two always consume a whole bag.

I know, I know. It's definitely one of my. My character flaws. I can't have an open bag because it's just like I get to the bottom of it, too, way too quickly. Okay.

So the thing is, I think what, what I was saying is, I think all those products, when you put them in, there's a. Signs for it to work when you're not baking with as many ingredients. There are far too many ingredients in products. I stick. I always say five or six ingredients. After that, it's. You're going to void out the flavor of certain things. That's my interpretation of it. Okay. I find that everything works for me. And if you gave me a recipe, any recipe, I've got the old South African malva pudding, which is cream and butter and sugar and everything. I've perfected it. That's gluten, dairy and grain free. You wouldn't know the difference.

Yeah, yeah. It's really amazing. Stop.

Just getting, getting comfortable with yourself in the kitchen and also not making anyone in your family feel like they're a burden. And that's why I. When I work with people, I say to them, change your whole family lifestyle, even if it's for just Johnny. But you're all going to benefit from it. Yeah, but don't let him feel like he's left out.

Yeah, yeah.

Because that's what I did. I was always left out because I couldn't eat anything.

Yeah.

Yeah. And it's. It's terrible. And it's a hard. It's a hard way to live when you're like a pariah in your own home. Right. I spent many, many years as a pariah in my own home. So I get it. So you make this bread, you come up with this bread and you have. You have a neighbor. Is your neighbor Lauren Zander? Is that who it was?

No, it was Lauren Zander's sister. What was. I met him through Lauren Zander because Lauren Zander's sister was dating a guy across the road from me. And Lauren was there for dinner. That.

Okay. So you meet her, you. She tastes your bread, she goes crazy, and she calls her friend Dr. Mark Hyman. Right. So Dr. Mark Hyman gets a sample of your bread and then what happens?

Well, I went over to Lauren's house on a Saturday morning and all these people, and I have no idea who anybody is because me, I don't know. But anyhow, everybody's. It was the funniest thing. And I took cornbread and I took my banana muffins or everything you can imagine. I whipped it all up in a few hours because you only gave me a few hours notice. And I went.

Which is all that Lynn needs, because I'VE never seen a bigger boss in the kitchen. She just like has a command that. Well, actually my, my other best friend, Lisa Goldenberg is also a boss in the kitchen and everywhere else. But in any event, you it, you are a boss in the kitchen. I mean, what you do in, in short spans of time is just astounding to me.

Yeah. So I went over to Lauren's place and everybody's sitting there. I don't know anybody. And I'm like walking. And I knew Mark because you're walking.

Into like the who's who of health. Right?

Everyone, everywhere. And Mark was there and he's, he sat there and he's like, oh, my God, I've never had a bagel. I haven't had a bagel in years. You know, it was so funny. And anyhow, he said, I'm going to Instagram you now. And I said, instagram me? I don't have a business. What do you mean you don't have a business? You just gave me a bagel. You have to. I've got a video of it. It's so funny. Anyhow, so he said, you've got to start a business. This is crazy. You're so talented. Everything. Okay, fine. We'll be in touch. Okay. So a few months later on a Saturday night, I get a call, I get a text. Hi, this is Mark, Mark Hyman. I heard you're the best friend from Lauren Zand. I heard you're the best chef. Please cater for 100 plus people in New York City. I'm like, chef? I'm not a chef. So I text back, I'm not a chef. What are you talking about? Lauren? Zander says you make the best food. I called him on the Monday, said, you're joking, aren't you? He said, no, it's my 60th birthday party. I said, what are you asking? He said, 100 plus people, please cater for me. Cater. I'm not a caterer. And then my husband, who's the best, turns around and says, you can do this. Don't worry, I'll help you. We can do this. Well, Market's a place in New York City that has no kitchen, only heating trays. Okay. By now I've converted my barn on our property into a commercial kitchen. Thank goodness. And we cooked. I cooked everything. I was literally up for three straight days cooking for 133 people in New York. A full sit down meal. Butlers, hors d' oeuvres and dinner. I always say I did it. I'll never do it, again, was one of the best experiences. I'll never do it. Oh, God. I mean, I do, as you know, for the women's group, I'll cater for Everybody there for 30, 40 women or whatever it is. And the other day, some friends needed SEFSA. I made dinner in two hours for 12 people. I'll do that. But never.

So it was your premiere and your finale.

Exactly. Good way of putting it.

I love it. I love it. But since then, you do have a business and it has grown. So tell us about Lynn's life breads and. And what you offer people and how to find you and what they can get. Because I'll tell you that for me, I do miss bread. I do miss bread. And having met you and now having that in my life makes a difference.

Yeah. Thank you, Jen.

And you no longer feel deprived. Because I think that that is the biggest part of making these monumental changes in your diet is that people feel deprived and that's why they relapse. And with you, you don't have to feel deprived.

Yeah. Thank you. And that's. That's what my goal is here. So my braids, I. I designed them to. To really be dummy proof. Okay. And I'm not calling anybody a dummy.

Yeah.

But there's the.

No, but for people like me who don't bake.

Yes. We're going to do it together one day.

This is really something that anyone can do. You don't have to have that skill set. You've made it so that it is very, very easy. It's not time consuming. So if you're busy or if you're not good in the kitchen, it doesn't matter. You can still have homemade bread and bagels. Crackers.

Exactly. And so what I did is I put together the packages, which. This one's the crackers. I just picked this up and this is what they look like. I've only got scraps because I ate them at 2 o' clock this morning. Cause I came in and I was starving. The crackers are really light and seedy. And all you do is you put two cups of water, pour this in, leave it for eight to 10 minutes so it gets gooey. Spread it out on a big sheet and put it in the oven for 45, 50, 45 minutes, I think it is.

Yeah.

Slice it, put it in, turn off the oven, let them dry up. That's it. Bread baking. All you need is egg whites, lemon juice, olive oil or avocado oil and baking soda. And I used this morning. I baked the Bagels, and I made bread and it took me 40 minutes. It takes three minutes to prep. Okay.

Yeah, three minutes to prep.

All right. And 40 minutes to bake the bagels. I use donut pans. Okay. Breads. I took the bread. Took me three minutes to prep. This is the cinnamon strawberry bread.

And if you're listening, she is showing. I mean, if you're, if you're just listening, she is showing us these beautiful breads that she's making.

Okay? So it really is simple. It takes three minutes to prep, 90 minutes to bake. If it's the breads, put them in the oven and leave them. Don't open the door because it's egg whites that are rising up seeds. Okay. So you've got to remember that scientific part of it. That's all. I just want people to know what they really eating.

Yeah.

And I will tell you when you walk into this house right now, the smell is amazing. That's good for your gut. It's good for your body to smell home cooked food.

And there's no preservatives, there's no hidden ingredients.

I also think what the nice thing.

Is that you can do this with your kids. You can.

Kids love.

It can be family time. It's easy for kids to do this right? So they feel important and engaged. And then, you know, we do celebrate around food. Every single religion, every single group, we all celebrate around food. And bread is, is the food of life. I mean, from the beginning of time. And I'm so delighted that you have made bread again accessible to people like me, like you, and like millions of Americans and around the world who cannot eat bread anymore. Yeah, right. Like you. You've opened up the possibility for us again, and it makes a huge difference. And I, I know, I see this every single day in my practice where that is the one thing that holds people back is they, they can do the things that I'm telling them to do. Right. Except.

Right.

They want bread.

Right.

You know, we all come to our place. For most of us, it's a pain to purpose conversation, right. Where we're sick and so we get into the wellness field and, and I, I hear from my family all the time like, you're the sickest, healthiest, healthy person I've ever seen. And I know, I know people say that to you as well.

Yeah, they do. And I think even Mark Hyman, he was treating me for lymes. I had limes with. I mean, Covid with limes and mold all at the same time, with shingles and Mark was treating me in Lennox, and. And I'd say, people say to me all the time, you're the healthiest person I know. And he'd say, yeah, but if you didn't eat this way and you didn't do what you did, you wouldn't even be here. So, you know, I think that's a really important message, is that we can make our lives so much better and save ourselves from a lot of anxiety of worse illness or worse consequences if we actually take care where we can. And I even do that in my whole environment. I don't have anything toxic in my house. What if I put on my skin? I make sure it's clean. I've had skin cancer. I want to make sure everything's clean, okay? Because that is a lifestyle. I'm not on a diet. I'm on a lifestyle.

Yep.

Yep.

And the thing is, we. We are all dealt the hand that we're dealt in that. I'm not saying that everything is genetic, but genetics do have something to do with this. Like, I'm never going to change the fact that I have terrible detox genes. I have terrible detox genes. Like, that's the bottom line. I'm not changing that. So for me, if I don't walk the line, I'm. I'm really, really bad, which is why I walk the line, right? And I was just criticized today. Someone said, oh, you out there preaching with all your Botox and your filler and your fake tan. And I'm like, I don't do any of those things, so I must be looking pretty good to them because I don't do Botox or filler or fake tan. I do color my hair. I'm so out with that. I like film on Instagram with. With hair color in my hair, and I do get lashes put on, but aside from that, like, my fake tan is OG makeup, right? Like, I use the most natural makeup that there is out there. And, well, I don't remember what else she. This woman accused me of, but you know, the. The bottom. Oh, Botox and filler, which I don't do right? But. But it's. And I'm not judging people to do right. Like, we all pick our poison. I'm not ready to look like my mother. So I continue to dye my hair. I get lashes because I have so little time to get ready every day that it just saves me time to have lashes on. And then I feel a little better about myself. I don't know. I'm vain or whatever it is, but the bottom line is that we all pick our poison. And I can't pick gluten, I can't pick dairy. It's not a choice for me. Right, right. And no one's ever going to be perfect. You can't be perfect. But I can choose to eat really clean, to eat whole foods, to not eat processed foods. I can choose to not wear perfume. I can choose to clean my house with vodka and lemon juice and water, which is literally what I clean my house with. I can choose to use baking soda and essential oils for toothpaste. Like, I can choose these things. And I do. Yeah, I do. Right.

And.

And it's just a matter of what choices are you going to make? And for the person that says, you know, I choose Botox or I choose filler. Okay, right. Like that's their choice. And if that works for them, okay, I'm not judging. I'm not judging. And I think we all need to stop judging one another. But the thing is, if you don't have the health that you want, you need to make some changes and you need to make better choices. Right. My hair color isn't preventing me from lifting weights and having all the energy that I need and sleeping at night. And, you know, it's not. And so I continue to do it.

Right.

When it.

When it does affect my health, I'll stop. Right. But we all poke our poison.

Absolutely. I agree with you 100%. Another thing is also what I did when I went on this, this quest of, you know, eating healthy and everything, I came home and I was so lost. I'm going to take gluten, dairy, and grain out of my life. And then. And then what? Okay. I'm looking at my shelves, say everything's packed up to go. Now what am I doing?

And there's nothing left.

Exactly. Like, what am I doing? And thank God for these great companies today that are doing this. So I just keep it as natural as possible. So what I would love to do as well is add to you that if you've got any clients, as I say, I get emails myself. Everything comes directly to me. If anybody wants help, I'll compliment them 10 minutes of a conversation on how to go about a lot of this, because I do consult with people. I do it online, where I'll go to their in face on Zoom or FaceTime, and I'll go through their refrigerator, through their freezer, teach them how to read labels. That's the biggest thing, Jen. You go to places and you think they're healthy stores. Okay? And you pick it up and you turn it over. And the oils that are in the stuff, you want to just say, oh, my gosh. And they call this healthy. It's scary.

I know.

So this is part of. I don't want anyone to feel alone.

Yeah, yeah.

You can. You can change the whole home to. This is my pantry behind me.

Yeah. Which is a thing of beauty. Having seen it up, up close and personal, it's. It's amazing. Your pantry is amazing and exemplary of what our pantries should look like. Right. Like natural, nourishing foods.

Pick up the. Open the coffee. Yeah. I like chocolate. I'll have Hue chocolate. Now, I haven't given to you yet, but I've just developed a chocolate mousse that only has two ingredients, so it took me a while to perfect it. I think yesterday I did. So now you know. But there's so many good products on the market.

Yeah.

We're not alone as we used to be. It's not as bad as 11 years ago.

Yeah.

There are great supplements, substitutes for everything today.

Yeah. Yeah.

I'm called adaptation. You adapt to whatever you need to do.

Yes. All from the kitchen scientist.

Exactly what I haven't. I'm only selling the Internet, so it's an Internet business. On Lynn's life breads dot com. And also I will create today so that anybody hearing this, if they put Dr. Jan D R J E N N, just put D R, G A E N N. I'll create that code today. Any six you buy, you'll get the seventh free, which is like doing. It's about an 18% discount. I do everything myself. Okay. I know that it's not about money. It's about me helping people. And I believe in energy healing. I started that 25 years ago. I did courses in energy healing. I believe my energy of what I believe in is of nurturing, healing and doing. I don't. I'm not a healer. But I know that the love is infused in what I create. I make every mix. I stamp every part with five to six stamps on them. Okay. I do it by hand. I do it all. So I can't go into the discount here, the discount there or anything. I just can't because these products are expensive.

Well, it's also a really, really high quality product.

It's a high quality product and you.

Are infusing it with love and that's it.

So if you any six you buy, I will give you a seven free.

Well, and thank you so much. I am so, so, so grateful. And I know that my listeners will be grateful again. Tell them where to. Tell them where to go.

It's Lynn's lifebreads.com L Y N A N N S L I f e braids.com Amazing.

Lynn, I am so glad to have had you on today to have had this conversation. I'm glad that you got to share your story and I hope that it helps people if you recognize yourself in Lynn's story. If you've been struggling with your health your whole life, maybe it's because of what you're putting in on and around you. Because for so many people that is an issue. And you are a tremendous inspiration. You are living proof that you can go 50 some years on this earth being sick and still recover your health and there is hope. And your sister who had this, who had this very advanced breast cancer diagnosis and you helped her to be healthy and to put that diagnosis behind her, which is what we talk about every single day here at Real Health MD and for my part, I have developed the breast health blueprint for all of those people that do want some individualization because that's what we do at Real Health Maryland and do want to put their breast cancer diagnosis behind them. And we do have, we do have the secret to making these monumental changes without feeling deprived, without feeling left out of life. Because I think that life is something that should be celebrated and should be filled with love and, and reward and purpose and that's what we do here. Lynn, thank you so much.

Rehearsal, right? Yeah.

Yeah.

It's not a grace rehearsal. Take on, take on every day. Jen, I love you. Thank you so much. This was so, so wonderful.

If you enjoyed this episode.

Sprayed my seeds.

Yes, exactly, exactly the purpose of life. Spread your seeds. If you enjoyed this episode then please like it. Give us a comment. Follow me Share with someone that you love so that someone else can benefit from it and know that I will be back next week, same time, same place. It's Dr. Jen. Bye for now.

Bye.

Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Keeping a breast podcast with Dr. Jen. I hope you found the discussion informative and empowering. Remember, breast health is breast so by staying informed and taking proactive steps, you have the power to optimize your well being. My team and I encourage you to apply the knowledge gained from today's episode to make positive changes in your life and share what you've learned with others. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our podcast and leave us a review. Your feedback and support mean the world to us. And help us to reach more people who can benefit from the these conversations. Stay connected with me on social media where I share additional resources, advice, updates and announcements related to breast health. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Dr. Jensimmons and remember, my Jen has two N's, so until next time, remember to stay proactive, informed and confident in your breast health journey. The key to your health is you.