Mindset is the biggest thing to shift when it comes to making food related changes, because if you don't have the right mindset, you're not going to want to change:
The feedback from all the carbs that we consume is that we can't live without them, however, we get to be smarter than what our body tells us.
Interested in the key ingredients for your successful mindset and dietary adjustments? Listen to this episode - you might be closer to your success than you may think!
About Andrea O'Donnell:
Nutritional Therapist Practitioner
Rising Roots Nutrition LLC
Andrea@Risingrootsnutrition.com
You'r listening to YOUR Mental Wellness podcast for YOUR voice and sanity.
Thank you for joining us this week on your mental wellness podcast for your voice and sanity. Make sure to check out our show notes, visit our website, www dot tools for vitality.com where you can subscribe to the show. We would appreciate it if you would tell a friend about the podcast
What are your questions about your mental wellness, tools for vitality, or any other topic that comes up for you?
Email me: toolsforvitality@pm.me .
Tools for Vitality: Therapy, Coaching, Optimizing Nutrition and Movement for Mental Wellness
Mindset is the biggest thing to shift when it comes to making food related changes, because if you don't have the right mindset, you're not going to want to change:
The feedback from all the carbs that we consume is that we can't live without them, however, we get to be smarter than what our body tells us.
Interested in the key ingredients for your successful mindset and dietary adjustments? Listen to this episode - you might be closer to your success than you may think!
About Andrea O'Donnell:
Nutritional Therapist Practitioner
Rising Roots Nutrition LLC
Andrea@Risingrootsnutrition.com
You'r listening to YOUR Mental Wellness podcast for YOUR voice and sanity.
Thank you for joining us this week on your mental wellness podcast for your voice and sanity. Make sure to check out our show notes, visit our website, www dot tools for vitality.com where you can subscribe to the show. We would appreciate it if you would tell a friend about the podcast
What are your questions about your mental wellness, tools for vitality, or any other topic that comes up for you?
Email me: toolsforvitality@pm.me .
Tools for Vitality: Therapy, Coaching, Optimizing Nutrition and Movement for Mental Wellness
Okay. So welcome. I do have an exciting exciting, I would say colleague with me, Andrea O'Donnell, I do hope I pronounced your name right. And yeah, I was just very excited when I got to ask you about speaking a little bit about your work as a nutritional therapy practitioner, and how you feel that food can be used for mental wellness and overall well being self. Any anyways, I was so excited that you, you agreed to share a little bit about your background or your favorite things as a nutritional therapist practitioner.
Unknown:Now, thank you so much for having me.
Sibylle Georgianna:Yes, so. So I can give a little backdrop on I felt that was like a divine appointment to even might have met you when I was just looking for nutritional therapy support for actually promoting my kids. And literally, when I was trying to take another look at it, because of the big influence of food and mood and wellbeing. And even in emerging little ones. You showed up in my corporate cars, and I was like, oh my goodness, this is like they haven't opened up and answering my question, who could help me? So anyway, so that was my me finding you. But how did you find you feel me if I can ask to become a nutritional therapist practitioner?
Unknown:Yeah, um, so you know, as with most people, it wasn't a linear one. I have a background actually in counseling. So I received my Master's in Counseling. And then I worked in the university for over a decade, and then I worked in HR. But during that whole time, I really had my own health challenges and hurdles, and the frustrations that I kept running into, especially with doctors, you know, I would go see a doctor saying, I wasn't feeling well, I was bloated, I was gaining weight. And they would take my labs and say everything is normal, and send me on my way. I remember one time a doctor even said that it might be in my head. And I was crazy. And I just felt very unsupported on heard. And that just kind of led me on my own journey into doing more research and asking anybody that would listen, doing more holistic health. So acupuncture is Eastern medicine, functional medicine, because I just felt like they listened more to my story. I had a lot of stress in my life, you know, as most people do. And I, I was learning a lot that stress and nutrition are so closely related, you know, into when we're stressed that things aren't working properly, and how it impacts our mood, and impacts our overall health and well being. It's not just about exercising. So the more that I learned that the more I wanted to learn, and then I wanted to help others because I didn't want people to have the same struggles that I did, you know, just having, you know, seeing a doctor and just getting another prescription, another prescription another band aid thrown on things that, you know, I wanted to help and I want to help people who want answers, you know, want to get to the root cause of what's going on. They want to learn, you know about the truth, you know, about Whole Foods and you know, things that are happening in our in our culture and society that are kind of trying to keep us down. So that's when I decided to follow my passion. And I received my nutritional therapy practitioner certificate. And then I decided to open up my business, which is rising roots nutrition
Sibylle Georgianna:is so exciting. And that's what I caught you at the right time you were at the right time in my life. And so speaking about, you know, those those things that we favor, I mean, it was such a I felt was a total Godsend situation for me to meet you there. So what's the favorite if you even started out like describing like, what's the favorite thing that you that you love about this work? Nutrition, but a little bit more than then going to see a nutritionist like in this field of nutritional therapy support? What's the favorite part of it? Maybe there is one?
Unknown:Oh, honestly, it's when I see that my client gets it, that aha moment. And they start seeing the changes in their body, to me is worth more than its weight in gold. I mean, I just when I'm talking to somebody and explaining something and they you know, they have questions and they're like, okay, okay, and And then they start putting it into practice, right? Because it's one thing to learn something, we can go to school, we can read books, you know, wow, that's really interesting. But it's not until we start applying it in the real life and start seeing the changes. That is just, it's just amazing, you know, I have had people tell me, you know, besides losing weight, they've gotten more energy, the hormones are balanced, they are sleeping through the night, their acne has gone away, their puffiness, this the overall they just felt puffy has gone down. The lab markers have improved from pre diabetes into not having pre diabetes anymore. You know, finding digestive issues, right, the bloating to go away the constipation improving, when you start seeing these, these changes in people, and then overall, they just feel better. You know, that, to me is the best part of what I do. But it all goes back to, I believe in education is empowerment, and giving people the tools, you know, helping them along the way holding their hand. What I hear from a lot of people, you know, they're just not motivated, right. And that kind of stems from what we eat, because that impacts our serotonin and our dopamine and everything. So they're just not motivated. So having an accountability and support person in your life, your cheerleader, that's what I love to do.
Sibylle Georgianna:Absolutely. And I think that's what I could even see in my data shift. When, you know, she started at a slower pace with this whole set of changes, but let's say when the minute when we kind of when you when she was kind of a little bit on the wagon already, because I wanted to really go at her pace, and just age and then also was an emerging adult, you know, having just different needs, and then making a stronger change at a time. But I remember we went to an event, and they had salad as like, you know, just this part of the lunch. And she said to me that the salad was smelling so good. And I'm like, Really, this is the change, right? I mean, the you know, the ability to even pick up, you know, your sensory system is just is reset with this whole, you know, and for thought awareness as to what the body needs. And it just is, you know, it is just so rewarding to see that these, these changes to really let certain habits behind, at least for a while, can have such a great outcome. That was just like one of my, I mean, there were many favorite parts of helping her through this. And you know, helping myself to making these these changes. So, but let's say if you were to fill in, what that looks like when you help clients like, what do you help them change a shift so that they can have these outcomes that you just described?
Unknown:And that's a great question. So the biggest thing that I tried to shift as mindset, it's all around mindset. Because if you don't have the right mindset, you're not going to want to change. And this is one of the actual, the new questions that I asked people when I work with them is what are your motivation levels? Because you have didn't want to make the change? Because it's not easy. It's simple, right? You can make simple changes, but it's not always easy. And this goes back to finding your why I always want people to find their why why are they making these changes? Is it because they want to live longer than their parents did? Is it because they want to see their grandchildren grow up? Is it because they want to accomplish certain things, you know, or they, they want to just overall feel better? You know, this finding that why and the mindset is the biggest thing that I can help my clients with, because when you start doing it, that's what's going to create the long lasting changes, right? Initially, like you said, I mean, I love that too. I remember when she talked about the salad. In our detox program, you know that that smell is the same thing like sugar in itself is so addictive as eight times more addictive than drugs like cocaine, and when we are become hyper palatable so our our senses just become overly sensitized to sweets, and they just make things sweeter and sweeter and sweeter. And so when we have an opportunity to pull that away for even 21 days, it's amazing and only takes four days for the senses to realign. And then you start smelling and tasting things as they should right fruits and vegetables that they actually taste good. Because that's what you're saying says want. And so that's the first step right is doing. But to continue it is the mindset. I believe in self. For me that's really coaching people through it, you know, remembering the Y setting intentions, being their biggest cheerleader, letting them know that I believe in them, and that they can do it because they can, you know, and maybe they've just heard otherwise.
Sibylle Georgianna:Or even I think the feedback from all the carbs that we get is that we can't live without them. And, you know, we're having these conversations, as we did this program together that, you know, that's part of the thing to overcome is that the body first gives these messages what I'm kind of need and quotation, okay. And then, when the reset of this whole thing that we really learn in, which is so empowering, I feel that it's not necessarily we can be even smarter than our body, what we what we hear from him, right, so it's kind of like this, you know, shift that we have capacities that we think we can do without pasta, but indeed, we're quite happy, you know?
Unknown:Yes, yeah. And that's the dopamine. So we all have this dopamine in our brain that gets triggered with certain tastes, smells, what we're doing and sugar is that feeds the dopamine, it's that high that you get. And that's just human nature. We like that feeling. Right, that rush? Absolutely. We have, like you said, we have the ability to shut it off. And to find it pleasure and other things like exercising, or dancing, or doing something else that we love that can still feed that pleasure response, without sugar, and we do not need sugar in our lives. We do not need it.
Sibylle Georgianna:Yeah, and I think that was a big eye opener, when you set it in the in the class for my daughter, who thought I was kind of out there when I said that, you know, we technically don't need it, you know, the body can make things that look really nice. But yeah, I think even having that, that sense of insight into our, you know, feelings, right? If we think about the mental or psychological part of it. It's quite striking, I felt how, you know, even without really working on the mental piece, directly apart from the mindset, that that was such a freeing experience that even like, depression, or lethargy, or you know, those things that I just, you know, the, the gray cloud, you know, in that in that reset it, you know, it's just significantly shifted. And so for me, in my field, I was so excited to see, finally, I want to say 2022, or 2021, that the APA, the American Psychological Association, finally, education and continuing education for psychologists for you know, the, the gut, brain axis and food and mood and, you know, because it is such a, like, it's such a link. And for decades, that has not been emphasized. And that, I mean, at least I would say, here, I think, you know, Europe, I felt it was a different, you know, different approach in in certain ways, you know, and the awareness of food and, and processed food and so forth. But, but still, you know, now that there's finally a little bit more, like advocacy to have, you know, really the focus of the spotlight on the food intake and how that affects us mentally. So, is there any, you know, maybe, favorite parts in terms of like, like, I have to list what to look for when when we want to boost our mood. Is there any, any any rule of thumb that where you like, you've mentioned for sure, cutting out the sugar, even if it's for 21 days, that will do a reset in terms of the dopamine, the feel good hormone? I mean, as far as your transmitter, your neurotransmitter?
Unknown:Yeah, absolutely. That reducing inflammatory oils. So inflammatory oils include like your vegetable oils, your canola oils, sunflower, even Pina grapeseed. So all these non natural oils are incredibly inflammatory, and inflammatory. What that does, is it creates inflammation and not only in our body, but in our brain. And so that impacts 100% our mood, and just our overall our nervous system, right. So reducing those heavy oils and sticking to more what I call like going back into nature, so your olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, these, these are really great alternatives that can also help improve your mood. There's, you know, a part of a part of this is even if it's not directly correlated to food, but mindfulness. So when I say that maybe it's not exactly just the the whole food but what you're doing with the food. So what that would be is chewing, so make sure that you're chewing your food 20 to 30 times each bite, to really help the digestive system out. Also, a mindfulness is taking a few deep breaths before you start eating. Or you can even do a prayer or saying something that you're grateful for, that is really going to help shift your mood too. So not only is it going to help improve your digestive system, but it shifts your mood overall, as well. Other things that you can do to improve mood is, again, going back to the whole foods, so making sure that you're getting really good sources of nutrients. So we want to make sure that we're getting enough, you know, B, vitamin B vitamins, and magnesium, and calcium and so many different Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin D is really, really, really important for mood regulation. So having a good source and omega threes, so a good source of vitamin D and omega threes would be like your wild caught salmon, your wild caught fish. So having that and Vitamin D has been directly correlated to depression, some research even notates correlation with Alzheimer's. So it's really important to make sure that you're getting enough food, which is vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that is high in vitamin D, getting out in the sun is really important and omega threes, so that your your fish oil, your fishy type of foods, walnuts are really high in Omega three as well. So your nuts and seeds. But that's all going to help improve your mood. And I hope I answered that question.
Sibylle Georgianna:I think that is so spot on. Because we're not, again, people, it's it's not something that we see in the in, you know, even in the media a lot, that these things are being really passed on from one generation to the next. It's not right, it's this, you really got to look, you really gotta go like a specialist. And then at the same time, you know, these recommendations are very simple. If we think about them, I mean, it's, it's, that's a read, we real easy thing to do, you know, and so even, I think I said that you already, but even noticing those profound health benefits in my emerging teenager emerging adulthood size child, where, you know, it eliminated having even to go for follow up visit, you know, to a doctor where, you know, the whole food reset really, you know, benefited her across so many, so many categories. And so, yeah, I think I'm always so excited to hear about simple tools, that they are so profound, even if we, if we just, you know, take them a day at a time or, you know, we looked at this reset as we're just doing a day. And then there's another day and then we'll decide to do another day, right? You don't have to think about how many days is this, we're just like a day to day. And I felt that was very helpful how how you really help with the mindset in it to, to make it up in a manageable day, you know, at a time so to speak. And that that would be again, the the piece that I see in therapy is that people come in and there's so much overwhelm. How can we even just tackle something that feels like this is so out of my league and yet, you know, with these mindset related support, it's very feasible. So so maybe as we as we're wrapping up our it's so interesting conversation, what are maybe if they're mentioned the vitamin D, you mentioned the direct fruit doors, what are perhaps like supplements that are like your favorites to recommend that, you know, people can get maybe a little bit of a jumpstart as well. Let's say if they don't like Fish All right, you know, you know that they're saying I needed a little bit more, more focused, what are the top five things? Perhaps I can say this like a half to four reset?
Unknown:That's a very, very good question. So that what I call is the Fab Five. And the reason is the Fab Five is because honestly, everybody needs it. And unless you're in a very secluded space, and when I say secluded, meaning you're in Iceland, or you're in, you know, some of northern Europe that they're already doing, you know, certain foods like they're having sardines, with every and anchovies with every meal. But I'm going to talk specifically about the United States in our culture. So the Fab Five is everybody should be on and high quality Omega three. And high quality is you want to make sure the sourcing of anchovies macros are where they're being sourced from, so they're not farm raised. And that you are also getting a high quality vitamin D. And they say about 80% of Americans are deficient in vitamin D, which causes a host of issues like I mentioned, besides the mood and the depression, and even low energy, there's so many other things that vitamin D impacts. So good source vitamin D, and you want to make sure that it has Ketu in it, just so it can help absorbability the third thing that you want is a very good probiotic. Probiotics are really important because they are going to put the good bacteria into your microbiome. And that, you know, as Hippocrates says that all disease begins in the gut, maybe not all but most, the majority. So you really want to have a healthy gut. And so we want a good quality probiotic. And I emphasize good quality, because there's really bad qualities out there. So you want to have good quality. The fourth is a glutathione. So glutathione is actually a natural antioxidant in the body that's made. But when we are eating high inflammatory foods and high sugar, it depletes it much quicker, which can reduce our immune system. So glutathione is something I highly recommend for people. And the fifth one is short chain fatty acids. short chain fatty acids are essentially a prebiotic, so they're the food for the probiotic. And you can get that again, if you're eating whole foods or, or if you're eating fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, or some say kefir. That's how I pronounce it. But short chain fatty acids are going to be giving the proper food and you get that a lot from the fiber as well. So when you're eating high fiber food, so those are kind of my Fab Five, that is my go to for people. And then it all depends on the person as well.
Sibylle Georgianna:And absolutely, well, that sounds really, really good. I will put that in the show notes for sure, as well as with your contact info so that people can find you and ask you more questions. That's fine, too. So we'll have more conversation. Yeah, for sure. But thank you so much for your time today. And it's really so much food for thought and food for mental health. So it's really exciting for me to hear from you here. So thank you so, so much for you.
Unknown:Thank you