110: Deep Dive Into Gut Health with Charity Lighten, Founder of Silver Fern

Namaste, it's Sahara Rose. And welcome back to the Highest Self podcast, a place where we discuss what makes you your soul's highest development. I'm stoked to announce that my book, Eat Feel Fresh, a plant based Ayurveda cookbook, is now available for pre order on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Target, Walmart, wherever books are sold. This is my book baby. I went to India to shoot all of the photography. It is alkaline, it is refreshing, it is global. I believe that Ayurveda takes many shapes and forms because it is a living science and it's time for Ayurveda to open its doors to different countries, ways of eating, different ingredients, and of course making it plant based. So many vegans out there who have wanted to practice Ayurveda but have shied away because of the amount of ghee and dairy can now experience Ayurveda. So I'm so excited for Eat Feel Fresh to be out. You can order it, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, wherever books are sold and I will have some pre order bonuses including signed book plates, bookmarks, webinars, all sorts of stuff. So stay tuned for that. All you have to do is show me your receipt and I will be sharing with you all of the bonuses I have in store for you. I am so excited to announce to you that my masterclass with Shaman Durek called Awaken youn Powers is now out. You can find it on my website and this masterclass is for you if you are ready to stand up as a conscious leader in the new paradigm. It is seriously a pitta fire packed masterclass all about really tapping into your own innate potential. From my Ayurvedic and his shamanic background we talk all about how to emerge as a leader, break through perceived blocks and limiting beliefs and things that are keeping you playing small and how to truly embody radiance and success from the inside out so you can be a magnet truly for opportunities and instead of, you know, going out and hustling after them, they'll naturally just gravitate towards you and just diving deeper into, you know, getting whatever you need, whether it's client gigs or corporate speaking gigs, but from an energetic place of just vibrating at that level that you will match as a frequency with the exact engagements or clients that you are looking for. We also really tap deep into finding your authentic voice so you can stand out in a saturated media place because you are so uniquely you and that will help you build and cultivate your soul tribe. We also dive deep into using the Internet as a tool to raise consciousness and how to fully rise up into your embodiment, your truest form, the you that you were meant to be. So I'm so excited for this masterclass to be out. It has four 30 minute lessons, a live Q and A at the end, which will be me and Sham and Derek answering any of your questions live. We'll have a private Facebook group to connect with the tribe and an Instagram follow train and comment pod where everyone follows comments and engages on one another's post again to cultivate that tribe. So if you're interested, it's only $35, the early bird rate before August 1st, or $50 after August 1st. And you can head over to my website, iamsaharrose.com you'll find it. It's called awaken your powers and I am so excited to have you. So for a lot of people, this summer has been all about healing your digestion. I know it has been with me. We went to Bali in June and that's where I got engaged and my beautiful fiance got really, really bad. Bali belly and I'm talking bad, found out he got E. Coli from eating at the W Hot. So even at a nice fancy hotel, you can still get some serious toxins in your food. So he got E. Coli, but that ended up being a blessing for him because after that he started to meditate twice a day. He started to eat plant based all these upgrades. So I was like, oh, good for you. And I was like, I'm never the kind of person who got sick. I've lived in India, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Iran, all over the place. I've never gotten sick in my life. I have a stomach made out of like steal. Except for Mexico. We went to Mexico to hunt for a wedding venue. I got so sick I threw up at the wedding venue. That's how sick I became. So since then, we have both become probiotic hounds, which led me to discover Silver Fern, which is an incredible company with extremely high potency probiotics. And it's not just high potency, but they are created to last in your acidic stomach environment. And I was lucky enough to interview Charity Lyden, who is the founder of Silver Fern for this episode and to offer 20% discounts for all of you for Silver Fern probiotics. So head over to Silverfern f e r n dot com, use the code Sahara and you will receive 20% off your probiotics. Now, why these probiotics are different is because most of us, and we talk about this on the episode think that, oh, only the probiotics that are refrigerated are good for you, or, oh, only acidophilus is good for you. But the thing is, if a probiotic can't survive room temperature, how is it going to survive the hundred plus degree hyperacidic environment in your gut? It can't. So we think these living probiotics that are refrigerated are healthier, but actually they just mean that they're more sensitive. And we don't want sensitive probiotics. We want probiotics that are going to surpass the heat, the acidity, everything our stomach is throwing at them and continue to live. So it's not just about how many billion strands there are in your probiotics. It's about how sustainable it is. So in this episode, we dive deep into how the digestive system works, the importance of gut bacteria. I ask her very specific questions. As a nutritionist, I love learning about this stuff. And the mind and the body are so connected and so many of us have brain fog, forgetfulness, anxiety, depression because of gut issues. You know, there was an amazing study of kids with low spectrum autism and they were given high potency probiotics like Silver Fern, and their autism decreased. So that is how connected the gut and the brain are. 70% of our serotonin is stored in our gut. So I ask her specific questions about Candida. Should we be taking probiotics? If we have Candida, should we not? Leaky gut. What is leaky gut syndrome? How do we know we have it? Sibo, small intestinal bacteria. Overgrowth. What is it? What does it look like? What is the cure for that? Crohn's disease. How do we cure that? So I'm asking specific digestive issues and interestingly enough, most of them have the same solution, which you'll find out about in this episode. We talk about how to spot a good probiotic and again, do they need to be refrigerated or not? What to look out for, and what are some strands of bacterias that you don't want in your probiotics that many of them have? So again, check out Silver Fern probiotics. She's the founder. Use the code Sahara for 20% off. I've been taking two in the morning, two at night just because I have some massive gut health problems right now, but you can just take two a day and that's the normal dose. I'm honored, honored, honored to have the founder, Charity Lyden, here on the Highest Self podcast. So without further ado, let's dive deep into gut health. Namaste. And welcome Charity to the Highest Self podcast. It's so good to have you here.

Thank you. Namaste to you. I am so excited to be on here with you, so thanks for having me.

Of course. And the first question that I would love to ask you is, what makes you your highest self?

Oh, gosh, that's a really good question. I think when I'm living my true.

Purpose love that simple and very spot on. A lot of what we talk about here.

Oh, good. I got the first question right then.

Perfect. So you are an expert in gut health. You're the founder of Silver Fern, and you're a true educator. And I think gut health is one of these topics that. I mean, it's such a hot topic right now. But why is it hot? Because so many of us have had issues with it for so many years and didn't really know the names and labels for it. So can you share with us a little bit about what made you interested in the gut?

Yeah, yeah. My journey is really, truthfully, a random journey. I wish it was just like, oh, I was always interested in the gut, and that really wasn't the case for me. I, in fact, like, my bachelor's degree, my first degree, so, like, you can't get further away. And then I had four little children, and I wanted to raise them the healthiest that I could. And I just started feeling, and pun intended here, but I kept feeling in my gut that I needed to look at the way that I was feeding my family, and disease was always just kind of on my radar. And so that really started my journey into nutrition. I did end up getting my master's degree in nutrition science, and I started teaching just all over. I learned and I learned and I learned about how nutrition in general affects our body. And then, unfortunately, my love of my life, I've been married for 22 years, and three years ago, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. And so that's really kind of what stemmed. I decided to learn even more, and I did my thesis on gut health, and that's really kind of where the journey began. But for me, I would say it started nutrition and then became more and more and more honed in to the gut, to the microbiome. And yeah, you bring up a good point that it does seem like it's all the rage right now. And I think for so long, people were suffering in silence. So that's one of the reasons. I think there are a few reasons why we're talking about it as much as we are these days. But one of them is, you hit it spot on that so many people have had their own journey in trying to figure out gut healing.

So true. Yes. I mean, a lot of us, I think when we had stomach issues, like, oh, it's just a stomach ache, we just kind of labeled it like that. And now we have so much deeper terminology. But I feel like at least my journey, I've, like, misdiagnosed myself so many times because so many of the symptoms are so similar. You're like, do I have Candida? Do I have Sibo? Like, what is wrong with me?

Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you're not alone. You obviously know that there's so many other people. And I think science has finally caught up a little bit, too. For so long, we just. We really weren't there in the science realm. And this actually goes back to the early 2000s, where a lot of great minds came together and they said, well, what if we mapped the human genome? Like, let's look at the genes of humans and see if we can kind of figure out a little bit more about disease. And when they did that, they were unpleasantly surprised to find that the earthworm and the rice plant actually have more genes than the human body does. And that's what gave birth to the human microbiome project. And it really has only been in the last few years that we've been studying so much of the microbiome that we now understand, and still a lot. A lot more to learn and a lot more to understand.

So interesting. I really want to research more about that. And I didn't know that we had less diverse genes than. Did you say rice?

A rice plant and an earthworm, they have almost double. And so that, you know, that left us scratching our heads going, what in the world? How is that possible? Humans are so much more complex than an earthworm. What is going on? And luckily, we live in a day where people are brilliant and they come together with unified efforts. And that's when they realized, wow, okay, here's what's going on. Humans, we don't necessarily need genes for different functions. We outsource those functions to bacteria. And that's when they learned, we've got bacteria cells. We have way, way more bacterial cells on our body than we do actual human cells. We don't need all the genes. What we really need, what is absolutely imperative, is that we have a very healthy and diverse microbiome. And that's what's kind of led into all the Knowledge that we've been receiving over the last five years or so.

So, so true, and so much I want to ask you just about that and why it's changed, but I'll move slowly over there. So a huge question that so many listeners have and something that I've dealt with a lot of people. Candida overgrowth.

Yeah.

What is really going on and what is the best way to.

Okay, so the first thing people need to understand is Candida is something that's naturally a part of everybody. To have Candida is not alarming. It's when the overgrowth occurs. And that happens for a myriad of reasons in different people. So the first thing people need to understand is that you've got this host of really healthy bacteria. They're your soldiers. They're fighting for you in your body. And what we don't fully realize is we're killing off our good soldiers. And so the Candida goes, oh, well, now Candida is really, really opportunist. They're going to be like, hey, if there's any chance or space for me to move in on, we call the mucosal lining. It'd be like, I don't know, maybe a friend that moves in and never leaves and kind of starts taking over your house. That's what Candida is going to do. So the first thing we need to do is we've got to stop killing the good guys. And here's a few of the things that are killing off our good bacteria. Of course it's going to be a poor diet. I know people kind of get sick of hearing it, but it's really true. A diet high in processed foods, a diet high in sugar, any of those artificial sweeteners, those things are all going to wreak havoc on your microbiome. Unfortunately, so does. I mean, we've heard of antibiotics, right. We all know antibiotics kill good bacteria. But what people aren't as fully aware of is that the livestock, let's say the meat or the chicken that they're choosing to eat, it's really necessary that that be as clean as possible, because antibiotics, most of the antibiotics produced in this country, in fact, it's about 80% of antibiotics produced in this country actually go to our meat supply. And so we might think, oh, well, we certainly don't ever take antibiotics ourselves. But if our meat's not really clean, that's definitely an area that can be wreaking some havoc on the microbiome, sadly to say, and I probably won't get into it a ton here, but there's something called glyphosate. Glyphosate is the main chemical found in Roundup. And glyphosate, while it doesn't kill the human cell pathway, the reason it became allowable and FDA approved was because the people showed. When I say people, I should say the manufacturers or chemical developers of glyphosate, they were able to prove that it doesn't actually kill human cell pathways. It only kills plant cell pathways. Well, we now know that. Yeah, that's true. But glyphosate also kills bacterial cell pathways. So just the farming practices in our country is again contributing to all of this. Stomach issues. People are going, what's going on? Why are there so many gut issues? Digestion problems, Crohn's disease, ibs, ulcerative colitis. And a lot of it has to go back to how our food is being actually made. It goes back to the food industry now, clearly. Sarah, you can interrupt me because I get so passionate. Like, sometimes I don't even take a breath.

No, I mean, it's so spot on. And. Yeah. And I think it's like, so hard because we try and we eat healthy and just. Just the soil factor, it's just out of our control.

Yes, yes. Environmental toxins. So let's talk. Maybe. Let's talk about things are within our control. Okay, so we. We've got to stop killing off the good guys. I should also, you know, just throw in there, alcohol doesn't do any favors for your flora in your gut. So keep that in mind. So we gotta stop killing off the good guys. And we need to actually start restoring them, giving them the things that they need for your body to be at its very best. And so that's where fermented foods and probiotics would come in. Now, I do hesitate a little bit because a lot of time people think that fermented foods are probiotics, and they really are quite different. Fermented foods are phenomenal. They're amazing. They're good food for your gut. They will help with digestion. But a lot of time they're not quite potent enough to actually change the microbiome that's needed to help people get healthy. And when I say change, I mean, this can't really be overstated. Let me give you an example. They were able to take fat mice and make them skinny, and take skinny mice and make them fat. And guess what they did. It wasn't the diet that they changed. It was by fecal transplants. So that shows you how powerful these little Tiny bacteria are. In fact, when I'm working with clients, I like to say, do you know what weight loss, depression, autism, Alzheimer's, asthma and depression all have in common? And that is that they've all been linked to the health of the microbiome. So, yeah, it's true. Yeah. So really, really important to keep that healthy. So fermented foods is a good one. Finding a good probiotic. And the reason I suggest this now, in the olden days, way back when life was, I don't know, amazing, people would go out to the garden, they brush the carrot off, there was still some dirt and soil, but there was actual living bacteria on the carrot they would eat. Same thing. They'd pick an apple off the tree, wipe it a little bit, but they put it right into their mouths. That's how we were getting natural bacteria. We don't do that anymore. I don't know about you, but I don't play in my garden as, as I should. I'm certainly not out in nature as much as I really should be, and I'm not as exposed to that. And with the soil depletion, we really do need supplementation. We need something to help us out. Which, of course, silver fern. That's kind of the probiotics I'm very, very, very proud of because they're scientifically proven to work. Whereas most probiotics on the market unfortunately die in the stomach acid. And luckily we've got stomach acid, right? That's its job. That's why we have stomach acid. It's to protect us from bad bacteria. But what it does is it does off most of the things that people think, oh, I can just rent to the. I don't know, I'm not going to name stores, but just our big box store and grab something for $5 off the shelf and then scratch their heads and wonder why it didn't work. Or people might turn to yogurt and be like, oh, well, I'm just going to use this yogurt and hope that that's going to be potent enough to kill off the bad bacteria. And unfortunately, it really is absolutely not strong enough. And then the other thing that people can do and this will be, I don't know, maybe I should have this on my tombstone and it's just going to say f. Fiber, fiber, fiber. Like, we're just not getting enough fiber. 97% of Americans do not get the daily required amount. So for females, that's 25 grams of fiber a day. For males, that's 35 grams of fiber. A day. I personally think it should be at least double. At least. If we look at societies that are living the longest disease free, they are eating significantly more fiber than we are in America. So that would be the other thing that I can't stress enough to. People in their diets get the fiber, that's fuel for the bacteria. We used to think that fiber just went through the body undigested, which is true, it does. But here's what we now know. It actually is fuel. It's food for the bacteria. It ferments that food in our large intestine and it converts that fuel to the things that our bodies need for it to have healthy metabolic function, which includes the immune system, which includes brain health. I mean, serotonin is what makes us feel happy in our brains and 80% of that is actually produced in the gut. I'm all over the place, aren't I? Like, I just get so passionate and there's so many things I'm like, oh, I need to tell her this, and I need to tell her this. So anyway, yeah, no, it's so good.

We are all loving it and taking down notes. So what I'd love to know, and I've heard different takes on this, is if you have Candida, should you go into the probiotics and fermented foods or wait until you've killed a substantial amount of the candida overgrowth, of course, and then take them?

Okay, such a good question. And again, it's going to go back to the quality of what it is you're taking. Fermented foods are good all the time. Some people worry, they're like, well, aren't those going to actually help feed the candida? Yes, it's possible that they will. But you need those soldiers, those other soldiers being fed at the same time. Now, as for a good probiotic, a really good probiotic is going to help kill off the pathogens, the viruses, all the other things that are going on in your body. And that's what silver fern probiotics do. So I always recommend, if you're fighting Candida, you've got to get off the sugar, right? You've got to clean up that diet. I went years and years ago, I went on a phenomenal six week candida diet that I thought worked great. The problem was about two months later, I felt like I was back to square one. I'm like, what is going on here? I felt like I just cleaned this whole thing up. And here's what I learned. Like I mentioned, Candida is so opportunistic. If you don't recede. Or let's say, let's use a garden. For example. For example, let's say you go in the garden and you clear out your entire garden and you just hope weeds aren't going to grow. Candida is just going to grow right back. You actually need to replant the garden with healthy, powerful bacteria, Good, healthy bacteria. And so once the candida is under control, then that healthy bacteria won't give it any room on the mucosal lining to grow. So that's why I do recommend people within their regimen get a good quality spore forming. That's what people need to know. It's got to be what's called a, a spore forming probiotic. That means it doesn't kind of, let's use the word blossom or bloom since we're talking about garden. It doesn't really bloom or blossom until it gets into your large intestine. And that's where all the magic happens. With fermentation and bacteria in your body, your large intestine, your small intestine is really, really important for absorbing nutrients. But your large intestine is where the bacteria kind of use their magic and help your body stay at its optimal, healthy level. Level.

Okay, so how would one know if it is if they've killed enough of the candida to now move into taking a probiotic.

Okay, so I think they should take the probiotic while they're killing the candida. It's going to help kill it. Yeah, it's going to, it's just going to give you more armor, more soldiers. I heavily and I know that there are different regimens out there. I've read so many of them and but to me, if they're probiotic is not strong enough to be taken with the candida, it's probably not strong enough to change the microbiome the way you need to. So with the silverfirm probiotics, I absolutely recommend people take it while they are fighting the candida. It will help them, they will fight it faster.

Okay, got it. And also I'd love to know what is the difference between refrigerated and shelf stable probiotics?

Okay, Such a good question. And again, I'm going to share with you, Sahara, the best truth that I can share with you. I know that this will be upsetting to some people or to some companies, but I spent so much money for so many years buying refrigerated probiotics because I assumed that if they were living, they must be better. But Now I understand it a little bit better. If those refrigerated probiotics cannot survive room temperature, there's absolutely no way they are going to survive my stomach acid acids. They just won't. It's got to get through. I mean, digestion starts in the mouth. Actually it technically starts in the brain. We always say the mouth, but your brain is actually what triggers your mouth. But your mouth is designed to have breakdown food. Then it's got to get through my stomach, my stomach acids, it's got to go through my bile salts, my pancreatic enzymes, it's got to go all the way through to get to my large intestine. That's where bacteria is needed. And so the refrigerated things. Now with full transparency, there are some studies that show that dead bacteria do still offer a benefit to the host that people need to know. Like they're wasting their money on the refrigerated probiotics because they're just not going to survive. The shelf stable ones then we've got two different types. Usually you either have something that's enteric coated, which means they've put some sort of a coating on there to help it get through that whole system I just described. But ideally you would find spore forming probiotics, particularly the bacillus subtilis strain of the spore forming. Those ones are not coated. Where in nature do we find anything that's enteric coated? These are natural. I call them ancient strains, which means they've been around, they're in tree bark, they've been found in fossilized rocks, they've been found in the soils, meaning they're external strains that were designed by nature to go in us to do all their magical work and then actually leave our bodies. So you never have to worry. If you get the right probiotics and the right strain, you actually really don't ever have to worry about overgrowth. Sibo is a big thing right now. You mentioned that earlier, Sibo. A lot of studies have been linking sibo very specifically to Lactobacillus. And so our probiotics don't have lactobacillus in them. And I don't want to bore your readers with the different strains. So what I just tell them is just do their research, make sure they're getting a spore forming probiotic. Ideally look for something that has the bacillus subtilis strain in it, like I told you. So. Yeah, that's kind of where I'd recommend people go for there.

Okay. And that's A perfect segue. Because I want to ask you more about sibo. Can you explain what SIBO is, what the symptoms are, and what treatment you recommend for that?

Yeah. So sibo's a tricky one. It depends on the doctors that you talk to. There will be some doctors that are convinced that SIBO is being misdiagnosed left and right, that a lot of these people that think they have SIBO actually don't. And then you'll talk to a whole other doctor. Oh, no, no, no. This is an absolute legitimate condition. The tricky part, though, is it has symptoms that are similar with things like Crohn's or ibs, where there's the cramping, the gas, the bloating. The truth is, food shouldn't hurt. Like, it shouldn't hurt us. It shouldn't leave us feeling those types of things. And so when it does, there's a sign that something's wrong. And in my opinion, most of the time, what's wrong is, is the microflora just isn't where it needs to be. Your microbiome doesn't have the diversity that it needs. So small intestine bowel overgrowth is what SIBO is. And here's like I mentioned before, the large intestine is where the fermentation process is going to happen. That means you've got two things in your large intestine. You've got the right bacteria, healthy, good bacteria, and you've got fiber. When those things are in the right balance, that fiber is fermented and beautiful things are created, like short chain fatty acids. Acids. Now, what happens sometimes is that that bacteria is actually being overgrown into the small intestine. The small intestine doesn't have the capability for that fermentation. So it creates kind of this inflammation and it creates the gas, the bloating, the pain. So what I recommend for most people is get on a probiotic, not one with lactobacillus. I would avoid that one. I would clean up my diet and make sure I'm getting enough fiber. And then I would also try to work on biodiversity of my gut. And so here's what I mean by that. We have. I mean, we don't even know. We haven't even been able to touch or name all of the different bacteria that's growing in our body. But we're working on it. But what we do know is that people that are obese have a different microbiome in general than people that are thin. And we also know that people that are sick typically have very Little diversity in their gut bacteria. So you want a healthy gut that calls for a huge diversity of healthy bacteria. And what we now know is the absolute best way to get a large diversity in your bacteria is to eat a large diversity, or I should say a diverse amount of plant food. Lots of different plants, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes. I mean, as large of a diversity as you can. The problem is that people have gut issues. They go charity, like, I can't handle the diversity. And so what I want to remind people, people is that their gut is like a muscle. You can strengthen it, you can get it working healthier. And it takes time, it takes effort, it takes calming food. There's things like peppermint or ginger or fennel. Those are things that kind of help calm your stomach down. But you really do need to be vigilant about adding in a large, diverse source of plant foods in your diet.

Absolutely, yeah. So many people all the time ask me, like, how do I eat plant based if it hurts my stomach? And I can't eat mung bean and quinoa and all these things. And. Yeah, and especially because a lot of us didn't grow up eating this way. So it's totally new for us and all that fiber and stuff. It's so much So I always say, like, cook them at first, soak them. If you do legumes, soak them, rinse them, add kombu, like a sea vegetable, ginger, cumin, all of these, like, warming spices. But totally I like the analogy of it being like a monk muscle, because it definitely is. Yeah.

And a digestive enzyme. Right. If people, their bodies haven't quite worked up the enzymes that they need. Oh, wow. Charity, I need to talk to you. I got some major gas going on. And so I chuckled. I said, don't worry, your body will build up those enzymes, but in the meantime, just find a really good, potent digestive enzyme. And again, silver fern. I guess part of me, I'm like, I'm proud of the products because they work, they help people. And so that's another thing that people can add in. And pineapple. Pineapple. Add a little pineapple even to your meal. That's got some bromelain, which has some digestive enzymes. Cabbage has some digestive enzymes in there that will help them digest their food. But you're right, you've given them the exact pointers that I would cook their foods at first, add some few things that will help make it a little bit more digestible. And keep in mind, the gut is always Creating new cells too, so you can retrain your gut over time. The most important thing to remember, though, is to get rid of the things that are hurting your, your gut to begin with. And like I said, it's the junk food, but that's not it. Nutrition is obviously near and dear to my heart, but it really is only one of six things that I feel like are necessary for a vibrant life or to have our optimal health. And those other things really quickly are movement. Movement is very, very important. Stress levels. Stress levels will wreak havoc on your gut, not only your digestion, but can actually harm healthy gut. Bacter one obviously is having good gut health. The fifth one is sleep, like really being in tune with your circadian rhythms, making sure your sleep is on. And then the sixth one that I love to add is just connection. Connection with yourself, connection with other humans, and connection with a higher power. All of those things kind of will help embody what I consider optimal health. And when we have optimal health, obviously we are able to live our best life and that's when we're our happiness happiest.

So true. And yeah, it's something that we talk a lot about on this podcast is like food is just one small component and it's everything else that plays such a large factor in your health.

Well, I was going to say I thought, oh, you know, I should really at least just tell your listeners a little bit about something called the Hirshheimer reaction, or the die off is what it is. As you're improving your gut health, what's going to happen is your bad bacteria hopefully will start, start to die off or be killed. But when they die off, unfortunately they release the toxins that they were holding. Those toxins can make us feel really lousy or really crappy pun intended there. So like, people just have to give their self some time. Like for some people, that could take five to seven days. For other people, that could take three to six months, where they just have to ease their way in. So probiotics would be one that sometimes, sometimes I tell people, take half a cap. You know, our serving size is two capsules a day. But some people, I mean, do half a capsule until you can ease your body into being able to kind of tolerate that die off that's happening.

Yes, absolutely. And another hot topic that my listeners have tons of questions about is ibs, IBS C and IBS D. Can you give us a little bit of your insight on that?

Yeah, this to me is another one of those things that that just gives me A clue that most likely the microbiome is off. Now, of course, there could be some other factors. If someone has a thyroid condition and all the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, that would say, okay, there's likely a gut issue in terms of the microflora. Now, Sara Hara, I also, Gosh, I should have said this from the very beginning, like, I'm not a doctor, right? People need to. They need to trust themselves and then, you know, know, speak to their doctor. Unfortunately, most doctors aren't very. I don't know, I think you know.

A lot more about this than most doctors do. And, I mean, you have your master's in the subject and created a entire company based off of it. So I would trust you more than most doctors.

Okay, well, I did want to throw that out there, like, talk to the primary care physician. Legal. The legal note. Yeah. But with ibs, again, it's really just kind of learning to know your body, because here's where we're lacking. Here's where science is lacking. There is no standard microflora. So here's what I mean by that. People can go and get their gut tested, right? They can send their fecal matter in and they can find out, okay, here's kind of what's in your fecal matter. But here's where I have a word of caution. Okay? The large intestine. Well, let me start with what the gut is in general.

And I've done this before, by the way, but I had no idea what to do with the information.

I'm like, I don't know what any.

Of these bacteria mean exactly.

Okay? Like, you hit it on the head. So what people need to know is the gut actually begins in the mouth. Okay? So when we're talking about the gut, we're talking about where the food goes in all the way to where the food goes out. Well, here's what's important to remember. There's a different PH balance throughout that whole system. So it's going to be different. You're going to have different bacteria that lives in the vagina. You're going to have different bacteria that lives in the large intestine. So I'm painting a picture here. When you take your fecal matter that really has only come from the very most descending part of the colon, so you're not really getting an accurate picture of your entire gut. You're really not. And then, like you said, what do you do with that information when they go, okay, well, you've got a lot of this type, you know, a Lot of bacteroides or a lot of the flamicities. You're like, and so what does that mean? And that's where we're lacking. We don't have a stem Sahara. We don't know what is best for. It's like a fingerprint. We can't go, well, you need to have my fingerprint. Well, no, you don't. We know that some changes need to be made, but we are just not advanced enough to know. I think someday we will get there. I think someday we'll have custom blend probiotics where people can do that, but we're not there yet, so we don't know. And I always really hesitate to mess with things that we don't know, even to the extent of, let's say kombucha. Like when people are like, oh, I'm drinking 12 ounces of kombucha a day, I cringe just a little bit because I'm like, we just don't know. Know enough to really kind of go in there and make drastic changes. And so that's when I get back to intuition. Trust your intuition. I was talking to a girl, she's like, I can eat a bunch of apples, but then on the sixth day, it always seems like on the sixth day that apple messes my stomach up. But then she said, when I really, really was intuitive, I realized, actually, no, I was just always stressed on those particular days. And so we don't have all of the answers. And that's where we need. We need people like you just training people on the mindfulness of their body and the mindfulness of what they do know. So if they go, okay, I do know that these particular foods trigger me or these particular foods are calming to me. That's the first step. But then I also go, like, my intuition is always to. I look outside in my backyard and I go, well, what naturally grows where I live? And that's always, to me, that's mother Nature's medicine box. Now, this is going to be controversial. I hate to say it, but coconuts don't grow where I live. They just don't. So to me, when somebody says to me, oh, I just need a lot of really, really healthy fats, intuitively I go, okay, well, I can embrace that, except for the fact that avocados and coconut oil do not grow where I live. Lots of fruits and vegetables grow where I live. Nuts and seeds grow where I live. Grains grow where I live. And so. So that for me is always the very first place to start is what nature has provided. And then we go into the other things, the healing modalities, the movement, the yoga, the mindfulness, the stress relief, all those other things. You go, how in the world does this come back to ibs? But to me it does. It's taking the baby steps to get your health first, then the movement, the stress, and even so much. I know this is going to sound crazy, but human connection, I mean, studies have shown human connection can alter our digestion. Now people go, well, how in the world. She's talking crazy now. How in the world does this happen? Let me explain to you how this happens. Human connection can cause stress in our life or they can be stress relievers. So let's say you've got a. I don't know, you're in a fight with your fiance. Heaven forbid. I guarantee when I'm in a fight with my husband, it feels stressful. That's our body's mechanism. We've all heard of that fight or flight mechanism. So when there's stress, all the blood flow is going to leave the gut and it's going to work on your body. Like if you need to run, it's gonna. It's gonna be like, you gotta get out of here. If you need adrenaline right away, that's your body's coping mechanism. So stress in your life, even from relationships, can cause your gut to shut down. And I don't know if you've had personal experiences with your gut and stress, but you probably can testify as well as anybody that it absolutely affects your digestion.

Absolutely, yes. I mean, so many of the things that you just mentioned, like with the kombucha, the coconut stuff, these are all things. Like, I remember the days that my digestion was so bad. Constantly bloated after everything I ate. Like, I would be like on the couch, like hurling over in so much pain. So I would load up on the kombucha, like two bottles a day. And not knowing that that was actually what was creating the problem, because I. Because kombucha is like the wild yeast. And if you have excess of bad bacteria and then you're drinking all this wild yeast, the bad bacteria is just going to, like, seize onto that. Then I was drinking all this coconut water, which. Which was not straight out of a coconut either. It was the bottled coconut water, even if it's raw. So much sugar. So I'm feeding myself this sugar, this wild yeast, and wondering why I have the worst digestion.

Yeah, I mean, it's so hard, right? We're always doing the best that we can. And I think so many people are so concerned with not getting the right. I call it macronutrient confusion these days. But there's so much conflict in what we should and shouldn't do for our diets, for our guts and whatnot. And that's why sometimes I'm replicating component. Not always, but sometimes just take a break from it all. Just fast for 24 hours. Just drink water like nothing else. Give your body a rest and let it heal itself.

Yes. So true. Yeah. I think it's so important for all of us to take that break, whether it's just a water fast or a kitchari cleanse or something, to just give our bodies a chance to not be working so hard all the time.

Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

So I would love to know your take on fruit, because traditionally with the Candida diet, there's no fruit. But I know people like medical medium. They say the fruit and sugar is not related to Candida. So I'd love to just know your perspective.

Yeah, I totally agree. I totally agree with the medical medium. I totally agree. There's another doctor, Dr. McComb, I agree with his take on fruit, and it's the same thing. I am a big believer that food can be our medicine. Now, obviously, that needs a disclaimer, right? When we're healthy, food shouldn't hurt us. But when our bodies aren't well, they can hurt us. That's another thing. That's another thing I really, really want to point out to your audience. And this is something that my husband's cancer taught me, and it is this. A healthy body and a sick body are not the same, and they don't respond the same to foods. So I need to be careful. Like, sometimes when people ask me for my advice, I go, okay, well, are you asking for a sick body or for a healthy body? Because I used to think that all were treated equal, and they're not. So what I can handle might not be what the next person can handle. But back to fruit. I'm a big believer that fruit is loaded with the exact nutrients, fiber, antioxidants, phytochemicals that our bodies need to help fuel us and to help fight off the bad guys. So I like fruit. I'm a big. I mean, I love fruit. And I know that there are so many different takes out there, even from nutritionists that are out there. If people are worried about blood sugar levels, have your fruit with some fat. Have some almonds with it, have some protein with it if you want to help. Kind of stable out your blood sugar levels. But for those that are fighting candida, fruit really is not one that I would want to give up. Now, maybe dates, get rid of dates or get rid of the pure maple syrup or the honey for now, but fruits are packaged in a whole form. Now again, this is not fruit juices. So when people are juicing and they're throwing an apple in their juicer, that's different. Right? You've stripped it of some of the things that help protect it. So fruit as a whole, I am a fan of in its whole form. Not canned food. Right. Not stuff that would be in a can. And Dr. McComb, he tells people to avoid oranges while they're doing the candida class. I'm not really sure why he recommends that he also has them avoid mushrooms just because of the fungus. But yeah, I'm a big fan of all fruits and all vegetables to the extent that people can handle them. But I also want them to push the envelope a little bit so that they're working that muscle of digestion so that they can eventually be able to handle, handle them.

Okay. And you would stick with like local and seasonal fruit, right?

Yeah, like low glycemic, you know, berries, raspberries have 8 grams of fiber in one cup. So yeah, I mean, ideally, when I teach classes, I like to talk about good, better, best. Right? In the best world, I would have an apple tree in my backyard and Right. Because then I know what, what's being sprayed on. I know how it's being taken care of. I actually wouldn't even wash it. I would bring it in and eat it. So then you go, okay, what would be better then? Yeah, something that's local, organic, maybe, you know, the farmer. And then what's good? And this is really important, good is still good. Just fruit. Go to Walmart. If you have to wash it in your sink, just eat the fruit. I think we get so afraid of fear. I hate fear based eating also. Right. We get so afraid of what might be out there. And that's why I go, do the very best you can and then don't stress about it. I don't want the stress to affect you either. Do the best you can. Be smart and wash it and eat it and enjoy it and let it go to work in your body for you.

Yes, yes, so true. I mean, I see so many people, they're like, oh, I can't eat this fruit because it's not organic. And then they eat like something like junk totally, that's processed.

And you would be Right.

And like, of course, in a perfect world, we would all have our apple trees and eat organic and the soil would be rich, but better to, you know. Yeah, for sure. Better to eat sometimes not organic, but at least get the fruits and vegetables and then to eat something out of a package.

Yes, I echo you. Amen. A thousand percent. And too many people, they get nervous, they're confused. And what happens when people are confused or they're afraid is they just go back to the same old habits. And those are the habits we're trying to change. Right. We need America to do better. We can do better. We need, like you said, we need more voices and more health warriors out there.

Yes, absolutely. And the last topic I'd like to ask you about is Crohn's disease. I know this is something else you. A lot of people struggle with. What is your insight on that?

Yeah, again, like, we just don't know as much as we wished we did know. I mean, it's a terrible disease. It's a horrible thing that people have to live with. It can take lives. But worse than taking lives sometimes is living in pain. Right. And that's what a lot of people, they're living in pain. And unfortunately, the foods that I believe can help heal the body are often the foods that cause them pain. So, like, I had somebody go listen, like Charity, I know you're a nutritionist and all, but a steak doesn't bother my stomach. Bacon doesn't bother my stomach. Like, these are the foods that I'm going to eat because you want me to eat a salad, it hurts me. And so how do you tell somebody to eat the foods that hurt them? And again, I know I sound a little bit like a broken record, but it's evaluating getting rid of the things that might be hurting us. Take a good quality probiotic, make some sauerkraut in your kitchen, get some kimchi, get some fermented foods in your body. Look at your stress. That's another thing. People that are stressed do have more Crohn's disease than people that, on a self evaluated scale, those that say they are more stressed in their life do have more stomach issues than those that would claim that they're not stressed in their life. So some people might be really, let's say they're vigilant with their diet. Vigilant with their diet, but they are terrible at relaxing at the end of a long workday. Those. Those affect the gut. This is crazy stuff. These things affect the gut and now we know they affect the brain. We're looking at Alzheimer's. Inflammation of the brain is leaking through our gut and getting to our brain. They affect depression, like we mentioned, they affect your immune system. So much of your immune system is inside your gut. And so doing everything that we can do to kind of create that perfect environment in our gut is going to be our best bet at fighting Crohn's disease. And luckily, we've got some science that's really trying to work and trying to figure out what is going on. The amount of studies being done on bacteria and feces and really trying to understand the human microbiome is very hopeful. It's very hopeful for people that are suffering. So, I mean, yeah, that's my take on that. Just do the best that they can. And I know that's a crappy. A crappy pat on the back that somebody that's lying in pain on their floor and they're like, really? That's what she's going to give me. But. But, yeah, start with those pillars of nutrition and movement and sleep and connection and gut health, for sure.

So would you recommend for someone who eating vegetables and legumes hurts their stomach, would you suggest for them to eat a little bit at a time or wait until it doesn't hurt them and start eating it?

Oh, good question. Yes. Okay, so I believe they need to incorporate into their diet. And let's say they go, okay, well, I've only found one food that doesn't hurt. Great. Okay. Make sure you're eating that food every day. Right. If it's only one vegetable, but try the different things. A lot of people don't take the time, and it's hard. I get it. But just like you were saying, steam all of your vegetables. Try that, because that will help break down the fiber. That will make it more digestible. And then work on variety. Right. Find the ones. But what often happens is people might find two or three vegetables or fruits. Let's say they go, okay, well, I know strawberries don't hurt me, and sweet potatoes don't hurt me. Well, they're just going to stick to those, too. But we really do want to build up that variety. So you really do want to start adding things into your diet now, if that saves two weeks at a time, three weeks at a time. But slowly adding in those other things and taking a probiotic, that probiotic is going to get into your system and it's going to start building your gut. I had one gentleman, he wrote me and he said, I've tried everything, everything to heal My gut. He goes, I now take 8 of your probiotic capsules a day, which is not. I mean, I don't recommend it. It's not going to hurt anybody. But we recommend two because I take eight a day and I'm fully functioning now. You know, I had another girl, she goes, I spent seventeen hundred dollars last year on different tests on different probiotics, on different supplements and cleanses and this and that. And she goes, and I finally heard about silver fern. And in 10 days, I feel like a new woman. So really, really, finding one that is effective is tremendously important. Also.

Love that. And for someone who's never taken probiotics before, do you suggest that they start off with one and do that for a while and then work up to two?

Yeah, really good point. Thank you for bringing that up. Yeah, I tell them, just take one and try that for a week and see how you do. If you've handled it well, you could go to one one day and two the next day, and one one day, the two the next day, and ease in until you're getting about two a day. And then if people are like, okay, this is too much, then cut back, cut down. And again, this goes back to intuition. People just, they need to kind of learn what works for them because we don't have all the answers. We really don't. I mean, I wish we did, but we don't. So y into a probiotic, and then we're about to come out with a children's one, which I'm can. I'm so excited. I've got four kids myself. I'm so excited about introducing that line. And then, yeah, it goes back to just. This is so repetitive. People are going to be pausing because they're like. She keeps saying it, but yeah, just doing the very best that we can with the knowledge that we have. I mean, we can't blame ourselves. We do the best with the knowledge we can and move forward.

I love that. And, you know, as complicated as it all is, it's really just as simple as eating more fruits and vegetables. Take a probiotic. Don't get stressed out. Like, I know, right?

Like, it took us 45 minutes to get to your perfect summary. But no, I mean, it's a secret.

To all of health and, and wellness. But sometimes we, we humans, we like to, you know, over complicate things and just like, yeah, go back to the way that our ancestors were and there we have the solar solutions.

Yes. Amen again. Yes.

Yes. Well, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us for opening up our eyes on so many topics and you know, really helping us all become healthier and happier as the gut and the brain are so interconnected.

Yes, they are. Well. And thank you, thank you for your efforts and helping people get better. And sometimes people just need a reminder and you are that wonderful voice for them. Just to you remind, remind them to stay motivated that their health is so important.

Well, thank you so much for creating a product that I can turn people to.

Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you. It's dear to my heart. So thank you for giving me an opportunity to share.

If you loved this episode, I would love to offer you a free gift and that is the first half of my unreleased book Eat Right for your Mind Body Type, which is different from from my book Eat Feel, the Plant based Ayurvedic Cookbook which is going to be available October 2nd and is available for pre order right now. But to get Eat Right for your Mind Body Type, all you gotta do is leave a review for me in the itunes store, Take a screenshot before you hit submit and send it to me on email to Saharaetfieldfresh.com and I will send you back the first half of my unreleased book Eat Right for your Mind Body Type. And to pre order your copy of Eat Feel Fresh, head over to Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Target, Walmart, wherever you buy your books. Order the book. It's going to arrive to you October 2nd, but as a special bonus for pre ordering it, I'm going to send you a signed book plate, 10 bonus recipes, as well as some other free gifts that I'm going to be sharing with you on the Eat Feel Free Fresh website. So stay tuned for that. You can find the link in my show notes. You'll be able to submit your receipt there. And I'm so excited to share this cookbook with you. Namaste.

Sam.