Listen to Your Gut My Detox Journey through Feminine Wisdom

Hi and welcome to the Global Conscious Health Summit.

We're talking everything health, and today we're talking digestion. And today I have Jodie Louise here, and she supports goddesses with digestive issues to reclaim their thrones by detoxifying their lives on every level. I love it. Welcome, Jodie.

Thank you. I'm so happy to be here with you.

Yeah, yeah. So let's talk a little bit about what guided you to be on this detox Wow, there's a lot.

There's a lot in there. But I guess I'll talk about the kind of tipping point for me where I realized I had to do something about my health and my detox. And I had been going to all the different health practitioners. I was feeling so overwhelmed. I was spending hours on Google just every day. I was bloated. I had gas. I was uncomfortable. Sometimes I couldn't even go to work because my whole body was just. aching and in pain and inflamed. And I didn't pay attention at first. And then I started to get acne and psoriasis, and it just kept on getting worse. And I was stressed and anxious. And I got to the point one day that I was literally with my partner at the time in cramps, like toppled over, crawling on the floor, just really needing to go to the toilet, so constipated. Because I wouldn't go to the toilet when my partner was in the house. I was so ashamed to like go to the toilet. And what ended up happening is he had to take me to the hospital. They did an x-ray on my stomach and I was literally filled with shit.

Literally.

So funny.

You're full of shit.

You are literally full of shit. And he's there next to me. I was embarrassed before about him knowing. He's literally looking at my poo sitting on the screen like In my colon. And they're like, we need to give you a laxative.

And I'm like, oh my God.

So that was a big tipping point for me that I realized the importance of the digestive system and how it impacts every area of our life. And that's when I started to learn about detox, because it was like, well, why am I not going to the toilet? And why is that not working? And I realized that it wasn't just about detox. It was about detoxing my life on every level because if I just ate the right foods, nothing was working. So yeah, many, many layers and still learning every day.

Yeah, right. It's, yeah, it's definitely a process. So, okay, so let's talk about the detox. Where do women go wrong on a detox path?

Yeah, so this was, this has been my last couple of years. So I went really deep into detox. I was doing 30-day juice cleanses. I did all fruit for 2 months. I've done raw veganism for a year. I've tried everything. And I got to the point that I'm like, why have I still got cystic hormonal acne? Why am I gaining weight? Why am I not thriving like some people that I'm seeing? And then I started to learn about the endocrine system and the hormones. And I learned that women's hormones are different to men's. That every day of the month they're changing. And then I started to learn that every single detoxing diet has been studied on men. And I was, I was mind-blown. I was thinking, no wonder I've been detoxing and dieting like a man. A man, every day his hormones are the same, so he can do a juice cleanse for 30 days. But for a woman, if she does that, she's actually gonna throw her hormones off balance.

Hmm.

So for someone that's really sick, diet— like doing a detox like that, it's really important, you know, and the hormones will go out of balance and you'll fix that later. But for the average, the average person that doesn't have a lot of problems, doing these longer juice cleanses can actually cause problems. So it, it's about understanding the woman's body, where she's at and what she needs, and we're all very, very different. There isn't a one-size detox or diet for everyone. So it's really important to understand what's going on in the feminine body. Is her estrogen levels high? Is she producing enough progesterone? What's going on in the cycle before being like, this is what you need to do, and then all of a sudden the thyroid's even more out of balance, you know?

So yeah, so men are different, so their digestion must be different than women also.

Yes, so it's actually really interesting that in the female cycle you've got your menstruation, then you go into follicular, and during the follicular phase your digestion is actually a lot slower. Sorry, your metabolism.

It's really—

I still get confused. The metabolism actually goes down, but the digestion goes up. So you, you don't want to eat as much food, but you can actually digest food a lot better. So in this phase, women are generally not feeling as hungry and they're wanting to eat lighter, more summer-based foods. Then you go into ovulation and then down into the luteal phase, and then it switches. So here the metabolism goes up and you can actually eat more food, but then your digestion goes down. So eating more winter-based foods that are easy to digest is critical. So it's in this phase that a lot of women end up getting constipated. And if they're detoxing in the luteal phase, you know, leading up to period, they actually store fat. So the body needs more food because the body is thinking, I might be able to get pregnant now that the egg's sitting there waiting to be fertilized. And so the body's, you know, in this state of like, I need to keep my body safe. So if you're not eating, it will hold on to any food that it's got, got in the body to kind of keep it there for nutrients in case the baby comes. I mean, our bodies are incredible, but no one seems to have this awareness. It's not talked about. And I really see over the next decade that there will be more and more detoxes for women, and it's going to be different, which is really exciting. And it is the missing link, and that's what I found for me.

So, so you said the luteal phase, you— is more because you're getting ready. And so just to say, if somebody doesn't know what that is, like when you drop your egg And that's where it can go attach the uterus after it's fertilized, and then that's the luteal phase after that, right? Till you start your period or pregnant, right?

That's right, yeah. So then when the period comes, you're then losing blood. So it's really important that you're building the blood. So if you're doing a juice cleanse over that phase, you're not going to necessarily be getting the right nutrients unless you know what you're doing. There are ways that you can still do a juice cleanse and know how to give your body the minerals at that phase. It's constantly changing what we need.

Yeah.

So it, it seems really complicated, and that's not something that I also like to bring into the mix, because anything that feels complicated actually creates stress.

Yes.

I like to empower women to just understand the body, and then they start to feel. So instead of having to track and know, and this is where I am, and I can't eat this, and I have to eat this, It's more about feeling the body because usually we're craving what we need, but we've been told it's wrong, it's wrong to eat sweet potatoes. Um, but really, maybe at that phase you really need sweet potatoes because your body's craving them for some reason. So that's, that's my mission, is to empower women to reconnect to their bodies and listen.

Huge, because we are so disconnected.

Yeah, so sad. And that's why I love digestive health because Because when we clear out the gut, we actually are more connected and we can listen to what our body needs. But if it's filled with parasites and rubbish that needs sugar and different things to survive, it's actually signaling the brain, eat more sugar or otherwise I'm gonna die.

Right.

It's insane. We are more bacteria than we are humans, so we want to have good bacteria in our system.

Totally. Yeah, and the sugar addiction, right?

That's just— Yeah, it's a big one. And it's in that phase leading up to the period that it's really important that you don't throw your blood sugars out of balance. So it's at the time when you're usually craving the sugar and the bad things, the coffee, the chocolate, all of that, that it's actually more important to really be eating more healthy and more like low GI foods are really critical at that time.

Yeah, right. Okay, so let's talk about, um, how detoxing creates clarity to being able to intuitively eat.

Yes, I guess that's what we were starting to talk about and leads into that. So yeah, if, if you try to intuitively eat when you have a toxic body, you just can't. It just doesn't work because, as I said before, the parasite and the bacteria are actually telling you what to eat to keep them alive. So what happens is when we clear out the gut, all of a sudden we feel this reconnection into our gut and we're able to listen. And we're actually listening to ourselves more than we're listening to this bacteria that's wanting bad things. And we're attracting new bacterias. So what's really fascinating is what happened to me when I went on the journey. My personality started to change. I stopped being so angry, more calm, more relaxed, and that's a lot— a large part due to the liver. So if the liver is really toxic, that's where anger and frustration comes from. So when you meet someone that's like red in the face and they're angry all the time, I can guarantee you if they did a liver cleanse that they will start to shift and they'll be calmer and more relaxed. And yeah, I used to speak so fast. And I used to grind my teeth. And they're actually— if you look up symptoms of having parasites, they're all symptoms of having parasites. But we don't correlate that. We think, oh, I'm, I'm depressed and I'm moody. And they think it's just because they're depressed and they're moody or something's happened. But it can actually be because serotonin and all the hormones are produced in the gut, that, that could be why we start to not feel good. So when we clear out the gut, we start to feel more clear, we start to feel more happy, and then we can actually start to intuitively eat. But it's very difficult before that point to be able to do that.

Yeah, totally. And boy, it— and again, it's connecting to your body, listening to your body. Yeah, it's about tuning in and following that instinct and Yeah.

Yeah. And it's a dream every woman says to me. I want to be able to listen to my body. That's what all women want, but it's really difficult and it is a journey. So it's about starting with the digestive system and then making your way to that and starting to learn to mindfully eat, be more present when you're eating, and then eventually, eventually getting to that. So.

Okay. So let's talk about fermented foods. Like, how does that help digestion?

Yeah, so this is something I love to talk about because fermented foods can be amazing and they can also make things worse. So a lot of people are like, eat fermented foods, load them into your diet, eat lots of them. And the issue is, if you haven't cleaned out the guts first and you've got a lot of fermentation already happening in the gut. So if you've got gas, you've got fermentation. If you're struggling to go to the toilet, you've got fermentation. If your belly is bloated, you're fermented. There's so much stuff going on in there. If you're burping, it's all signs of fermentation happening in the gut. So you go and add more to that, it can actually stir things around more. And again, it depends. Everybody's different. But I see fermented foods as more of— Sorry, I'm going to shit myself.

Yeah, yeah.

So yeah, if you actually cleanse the gut and then add in the fermented foods, what's that— what that is actually going to do is rebuild the gut microbiome. But until it's clear, you can sometimes be adding this more on top. And yeah, again, working with the female cycle, fermented foods are going to be best in the follicular phase as well. That's a better time to have them because the body is actually going to crave them more and more at that time. But yeah, depending on a woman's body and where she's at, it's definitely good to evaluate if taking probiotics or fermented foods will work.

Yeah.

And also, if you're taking probiotics, there's so many different strands, and getting some expert advice to help you know which one to take, because if you have an overgrowth in one already, then you take that probiotic, it can make that overgrow more. So that's one of the reasons that it's, it's difficult to test. It's difficult to really know what's going on in the gut, because if they take a poo test, they may only get some of the bacterias, because there's so much going on in the entire gut microbiome. So it's really hard to know what's happening. And yeah, I guess it's evaluating if you're eating fermented foods and you're noticing that you're gassy, more gassy than normal, then that's a sign not to have them. If you're taking probiotics and you're noticing your symptoms get worse, then it's probably not a good thing. It's all being intuitive with the body and just listening, because no one can tell us what's right but ourselves, right?

Because we know our body. We, we do. And yeah, trusting that— it's like people go to the doctor and they're like, But I don't feel well. And it's like, oh, you're fine, when you're not.

Exactly. Yeah, I spent so much money, so much money on probiotics and supplements and taking this and taking that, and I think half of it made me worse. I really do. So yeah, the great— the greatest and the most free thing we can do is just to learn to listen to our bodies. Once you know that, you've got that for the rest of your life, and you can share it with your family and your friends and Everyone, so it's a gift.

Trusting, right? Just trusting and going. Yeah.

My necklace says trust.

Oh, how appropriate. So let's talk about food combining, and does that work?

Yes. So food combining basically is based on the body needs different enzymes. To digest different food groups. So certain food groups, if you eat them together, the body can just freak out and it doesn't know what to do, so it just sits in the system. So fruits and vegetables, the enzymes are created within the mouth, so chewing the foods and stuff really, really well is critical. But for people that eat meat, the enzymes are actually created in the gut. So that's why it takes longer to digest meats, and depending on someone's digestive system, Taking a break from meats until the stomach is stronger can be really wise if they want to continue eating meat. And for example, starch and protein, you eat them together and the body's just, stop, I don't know what I'm doing. They just do not combine well together at all. So everyone's favorite spaghetti bolognese is one of the worst things you can eat together. It just sits in the body. But so, for example, if you wanted to eat some meat, eating meat with a salad would be a better combination as opposed to eating meat with pasta. That's going to digest much better in the system. And the biggest culprit— I get so many people saying to me, I can't eat fruit, I eat fruit and I get bloated and I get gassy. And then I say, okay, when did you eat your fruits? I had it after my lunch, and it's like, okay, so you've gone and eaten a heavy lunch, you're really full, then you eat fruit. And what happens is that meal that you've eaten is going to take about 3 hours to digest in the system, but fruit can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to digest. So you eat this fruit, it's sitting on the top, and it's literally fermenting like Alcohol.

Yeah.

I mean, there's even been people that, if you've ever heard of melon belly, that people have eaten melon after a big meal, they've been breathalyzed and tested positive and almost got in trouble by the police because it creates alcohol and fermentation in the gut. So that's when people get gassy and uncomfortable. So learning how to combine the foods is a game changer for anyone that's got digestive issues.

Yeah, yeah, right. Gosh, I remember, you know, many years ago when I was trying to figure out mine, and I think I was literally down to almost eating nothing— brown rice and something else, you know. It was like, man, that process wasn't any fun going through all that when you're trying to figure it out. And, you know, so, but—

I didn't have to choose then.

I mean, I, I did somewhat, but not like I do now.

Yeah, and it's just crazy that we just, we just don't know what to eat, you know. And everyone thinks, I'm gonna have my morning smoothie and I'm gonna be supporting my body, but most of the time they're putting 10 or more ingredients in a smoothie, mixing it all together. The body just doesn't know what it is. So I, I'm a big advocate for understanding if you're going to have smoothies, knowing what to put together, even to the point that fruits digest differently. There's sweet fruits, subacid fruits, and acid fruits. So knowing which fruits combine better together is a big game changer as well, especially for someone that has digestive issues. I mean, I know some people that can eat melon after a meal and get no symptoms, but they probably have a really strong digestive fire. So it's, it's It's not a one-size-fits-all again, but for someone that's having issues, it's a really great support tool to get some relief.

So yeah. So let's talk a little bit about sugar too, because that is such a culprit with digestion and feeding all the bacteria in your gut and making you worse.

Definitely. And that's what they love. So many people say, I have sugar cravings. I'm addicted to sugar. I need more sugar. And it's, it's just really difficult to give it up because the parasites will actually, when they're dying, they'll, they'll actually create symptoms in the body. It could be headaches, it could be discomfort, irritability, to the point that you just say, I just need sugar because it's going to make that pain go away. They're very intelligent.

Yeah.

And it can be a really uncomfortable process coming off the sugars. And it's good to, you know, initially find different things that can substitute that feeling that you're still getting that yummy flavor and starting to at least convert to healthier sugars and more lower GI sugars in the beginning just to come off. Because sugar's in everything. If you read most, most milks that you buy that you think you're buying a plant-based milk, if you're, if you're trying to be gluten-free, you'd be surprised. Pretty much every gluten-free bread has sugar in it. So sometimes I think, is it better just to eat the gluten bread, the sourdough that doesn't have any of those things in it? You know, it's, it's really starting to understand your food and to learn to make as much of it yourself because all of the sauces, everything, even when you go out, they add sugar to it. And yeah, it's wreaking havoc on our bodies. And yeah, it's hard to give up. So I have compassion for anyone that's feeling addicted to it. And I think just my advice would just be to take it really slowly because it is a, it is a process.

And you can get off. I mean, you know, I don't— and I, I remember years ago one time, I think we had Halloween or something when my daughter was younger, and I think I started eating it, and then it was like, this is insane. It is. It's addicting. It's Crazy. But once you're off, you're fine. But you've got to get past that hump, you know.

Yeah, I used to hate bitter foods. Now I love bitter foods. And bitter foods is what the liver loves. You know, the liver needs bitter foods. So it's interesting to notice how my taste buds have changed as well. And yeah, it's such a gift. And now I cannot imagine eating lollies. Like I just the idea of eating something like a redskin or what are some of the lollies they've got in the States? You know, like gummy bears and all these things. I just I just don't want any. I used to love stuff like that, and never again. I had a transition. I did eat a lot of dried fruits at first, and switching to dried fruits is a great first step. At least you're getting natural sugars and.

Yeah.

And dates, dates can actually be a powerful healer in transition. You know, I went through a phase that I actually did 3 months eating only dates and citrus juice. Very extreme, I know, and I don't recommend that to anybody, but it's definitely part of my journey that got me to where I am and helped me get off the sugar. So sometimes it's, it's finding ways that work for you to get you— you don't have to be all fixed straight away and Jumping straight off, because if we go from really bad eating to the best eating you can possibly think of, it will be too much for the system and the body will actually have what's called a healing crisis, which will be really painful. I've seen people lose teeth and hair and all sorts of things.

Wow.

So it's good to take it slow, especially with the feminine body, unless, unless you have a serious health condition, like if you've got cancer or something, then Jump right in, you know, it's okay. But for the average person that's just wanting to come off sugar and have more energy and lose a bit of weight, I recommend the slower approach.

Yeah. Great. Yeah. Wow, there's so much that can affect digestion.

Oh my gosh, so much.

Yeah. So is there anything you want to add before we finish? Any last—

Yeah, I guess I would love to just quickly touch on the emotional system. Just, um—

Okay. All right.

The importance of emotions and digestion are so linked. And for me, I tried every single thing I could before I looked at my emotions, the trapped trauma, the pain in my system. And I even start with my clients, we don't even speak about the emotions, we just talk about what they're eating because that feels safe. If I go in and I say to them, Let's talk about emotions, and like that's got nothing to do with my digestion, and I get it because I was the same. But I just want to mention that you can do all of the right diet, eat all of the right foods, but if you don't look at the emotions, you won't get better. So huge. There's actually a great documentary called Emotion, which is I don't have you seen it?

Is it um what's his name? Is it the emotion code you mean, or the emotion code?

And then there's a documentary that is a really beautiful way to understand the emotional body and how it affects our health. So I recommend that for everyone.

Yeah, great. Thank you. Perfect. So you have a free gift too for everyone. I do.

Yeah, I've actually got many free gifts on my website.

So.

Um, but I think I'd like to mostly give my intuitive eating book to everybody. So yeah, it talks all about the steps to getting there, which is a beautiful journey. Yeah.

Great. Okay. And that will be in the link where you've got this interview. So you'll have all that to click on and definitely get the intuitive eating book. That's great. Thank you so much, Jodie. Jodie with an E. I'm Jodi with an I.

Nice to speak to another Jodie. Thank you so much for having me and have a beautiful day.

Yeah, you too. Okay, thank you so much. Sorry about the lighting. My lighting's horrible tonight, even though I have sun. All right, bye everyone.