The Health Sessions – Details, episodes & analysis

This week, I'm excited to welcome Dr Peter Martone to the podcast. Dr. Peter Martone has been dedicated to creating the happiest, healthiest most well-rested tribe of people on the planet for over the past 20 years. He is the owner of Atlantis Chiropractic Wellness Centers and the inventor of the Neck Nest, a revolutionary new pillow that is designed to improve your posture while you sleep. Dr. Martone’s techniques have been featured nationally on CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX news stations and currently travels the country teaching people regain their health by mastering the art of living a healthy lifestyle.

• How do you define good quality sleep?
• What are the quick wins to help us feel more rested upon waking?
• What are your thoughts about sleeping position

  This week, I'm excited to welcome Dr. Peter Martone to the podcast. Dr. Martone has been dedicated to creating the happiest, healthiest, most well-rested tribe of people on the planet for over the past 20 years. He's the owner of Atlantis Chiropractic Wellness Centres, and the inventor of the Neck Nest, a revolutionary new pillow that is designed to improve your posture while you sleep. In this episode, we talk about why posture matters during sleep and discuss many other strategies to get the best nights rest. Over to Dr. Martone.

  (00:01:21)
  
  Hey guys, this is Stu from 180 Nutrition, and I am delighted to welcome Dr. Peter Martone to the podcast. Dr. Martone, how are you?

  Dr. Martone

  (00:01:30)

  I'm doing absolutely fantastic, Stu. Thank you so much. Just got off of a really cool snow mountain biking ride. So I'm energized and we're ready to deliver. All amped up, real psyched up right now.

  Stu

  (00:01:44)

  Oh, unbelievable. Look, I can't wait to get into this conversation. Sleep is a big one for so many people and well, first up, for all of our listeners that may not be familiar with you or your work, I'd love it if you could just tell us a little bit about yourself, please.

  Dr. Martone

  (00:01:58)

  Yeah, no, thanks. I appreciate that. So one of my missions has always been to help people maximize their life, right? To be able to help them optimize their performance. And I was just sharing with you, I studied my exercise physiology out there in Australia, down in The Gong. And I was a professional trainer, I'm an exercise physiologist, I'm a chiropractor. So I've had all of this education on nutrition and exercise and being able to put it all together and really coming down to the mindset of your health is a product of your daily rituals. And your daily rituals are driven by your beliefs. So if you are not happy with where you are health-wise, whatever it may be, you need to look at how you're thinking and who you're trusting as your resources for your health. And really what we stand for is education on being a different voice and a more empowering message and being able to help people navigate through all of the disinformation that's out there and being able to identify the state of health that they choose. And now we're doing that through sleep.

This week, I'm excited to welcome Anoop Asok and Ann-Maria Tom to the podcast. Together they are known as the weight loss whisperers who focus on metabolic mastery and hormonal health to provide their clients with real results. In this episode, we discuss where so many of us go wrong when wanting to lose weight, the importance of calories versus quality of food, and the strategy to actually keep the weight off for good. Over to Anoop and Ann-Maria.

• Where do many of us go wrong when wanting to lose weight?
• How can we ensure we keep the weight off?
• How important are calories vs the quality of food we eat?

https://180nutrition.com.au/

This week I'm excited to welcome Anoop Asok and Ann-Maria Tom to the podcast. Together they are known as the weight loss whisperers who focus on metabolic mastery and hormonal health to provide their clients with real results. In this episode, we discuss where so many of us go wrong when wanting to lose weight, the importance of calories versus quality of food, and the strategy to actually keep the weight off for good. Over to Anoop and Ann-Maria.

(01:15)

Hey, guys. This is Stu from 180 Nutrition and I am delighted to welcome Ann-Maria and Anoop, also known as the weight loss whisperers to the podcast. Guys, how are you both today?

Ann-Maria

(01:27)

We're doing fantastic. We are in the middle of winter here in Canada. It's cold, but it's good.

Stu

(01:37)

Exactly right.

Ann-Maria

(01:38)

[inaudible 00:01:38] here today.

Stu

(01:40)

Fantastic. Well, I really appreciate you sharing some of your time. First up, for all of our listeners that may not be familiar with you or your work, I'd love it if you could just tell us a little bit about yourself, please.

Ann-Maria

(01:50)

For sure, my name is Ann and this is Anoop and we are husband and wife. We are fitness coaches and we basically teach people how to lose weight while eating whatever they want, that's what we do. The reason why we got here and all that dates back to three, four years before when COVID started, everyone was sick.

(02:16)

We are also registered nurses in the ER. We were working in the emergency room at that point in time. We saw a lot of younger population coming through the emergency doors with variety of health issues, especially when we were in the middle of that COVID season. One of the reasons why we started our coaching back then.

(02:36)

One of the other reasons is also just our journeys, personal journeys, which we'll talk about here in a second, but we literally teach people how to lose weight by [inaudible 00:02:48]

Stu

(02:51)

Well, it can be so confusing because there are a number of different strategies. If you were to jump on the internet right now, you'd see that some people say it's just all about the calories, that's all it is. Whereas other people say, "No, no, it's more about the quality of the food that you eat." Whereas other people say it's about the timing and maybe a mixture of those two as well.

(03:12)

Maybe there's a personal aspect to it where we need to look at our own physiology in terms of our genetics and our digestive system, et cetera things like that. I guess the question then in my eyes is that where do many of us go wrong? What are the glaring mistakes that we make when we want to lose weight?

Ann-Maria

(03:33)

That's a great question. I think the reason why most of us or most of us are not able to lose weight and where we fall apart is the part that we go all in when it comes to the diet part. We cut a lot of food, then we go into this binge-eating and then we do a ton of exercise. There is not enough balance, I would say, in what we are trying to do, and that's where most people fall short.

(04:03)

As much as it is true that we need to be in a caloric deficit for us to lose weight, you have to make sure also that your body is ready for it. I don't know how many of you listening this know this, but yes, caloric deficit is required for you to lose weight, but most of the weight loss happens in our brain because the brain is what regulates the weight loss.

(04:26)

Our brain is literally our thermostat, meaning it wants to keep us in homeostasis, meaning our brain always prioritizes survival over weight loss. One of the biggest mistakes people are making these days is eating very few calories, cutting too much food all at once. Whenever our brain senses too much weight loss happening, again, it goes back to when I said it tries to bring us back to that homeostasis, the vital mechanism.

(04:58)

How does it do it? By really increasing, upping our hunger cues, making those donuts in the break room feel much more enticing and yummy than it normally is. Physiologically, our metabolic rate also slows down so that we can conserve more energy and send that right back to building up the [inaudible 00:05:21]. Technically, when you are trying to ease eat less food, your brain wants to cheat more.

(05:28)

The hunger is what is going to really give you in those situations. Sometime we don't even realize when that we are in such a drastic caloric deficit, we end up eating more at the end of the day. When you are below reaching that set points, metabolically speaking, you end up eating more to maintain that same level of hunger you had before.

(05:55)

This is why it's really impossible for you to maintain that weight that you lost with intense calorie restriction. One of the reasons, biggest reason why yo-yo dieting is the best diet out there for weight gain not for weight loss. Yes, to answer your question, eating less food and [inaudible 00:06:15]

For full interview and transcript:
 https://180nutrition.com.au/uncategorized/anoop-asok-ann-maria-tom-interview/

This week I'm excited to welcome Adam Lane Smith to the podcast. Adam has coached clients through his ATTACHMENT METHOD for years. And he's helped people from a variety of lifestyles, from blue collar families with marital troubles to millionaire CEOs looking or dating help. Anyone looking to fix their dating life, marriage, or overall health of all relationships.

• What are the most common attachment issues/stories?
• Why do many of us attract the wrong type of person when we have the best intentions?
• How important are physical friend groups/meet-ups  in the age of digital communication?
  
  

This week I'm excited to welcome Adam Lane Smith to the podcast. Adam is a transformative force in the field of personal development and relationships. He's a specialist in attachment and has coached a variety of individuals from every walk of life and helped them build the life they've always wanted. In this episode, we discuss the most common attachment issues linked to deep-rooted patterns and beliefs, and dig deep into the strategies to overcome them. Over to Adam.

(01:13)

Hey guys, this is Stu from 180 Nutrition and I am delighted to welcome Adam Lane Smith to the podcast. Adam, mate, how are you?

Adam

(01:21)

I'm doing great over here. It's good to be called, mate. I always love that. Here in the United States, they say that whenever you're called mate, you feel a little more fancy than you did before.

Stu

(01:31)

It's one of those terms I think that we probably use the most. Every conversation has a mate in there somewhere. But yeah, I feel naked if I didn't use that word.

Adam

(01:42)

We'll pretend that it's special then for me, if that's all right with you.

Stu

(01:45)

It is special. It is special. First up, for all of our listeners there that may not be familiar with you or your work, I would love it if you could just tell us a little bit about yourself please.

Adam

(01:55)

Absolutely. I'm Adam Lane Smith. I am the attachment specialist. I help people fix their relationship problems that have hounded them since the day that they were born. If your childhood was difficult, if you just didn't know how to get love as a kid, and you still don't as a grownup, and things just don't feel right. Maybe you don't have friends, maybe partners are a hard thing, maybe raising your kids is tough. If you need help, that is my specialty. I was a licensed marriage and family therapist for many, many years. Now I do specific coaching and helping people make sure that they take care of that problem right here and now so that they can live a good life.

This week I'm excited to welcome Dr Paul Saladino. He obtained an MD from the University of Arizona.  While there, he studied with physicians from the Center for Integrative Medicine, including Dr. Andrew Weil, New York Times bestselling author and a pioneer of the integrative medicine movement.  In 2018, he completed his training through the Institute for Functional Medicine and became a certified functional medicine practitioner (IFMCP).  He is passionate about finding the rootcause of a disease. He enjoys meditation and mindful food preparation, gymnastics, slacklining and skateboarding.

Questions we ask in this episode:

• How would you define the carnivore diet in terms of the food groups to include?
• What are thoughts on fibre, is it as important as we’re lead to believe?
• How might this diet affect our microbiome?

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Join the 180 Nutrition community:

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This week I'm excited to welcome Dr Valdeane Browne. Dr. Brown had a long and varied history in the field of mental health before even pursuing his Ph.D. in Psychology. For over 25 years he taught Continuing Medical Education courses across a wide range of clinical topics including Rapid Transformation of Borderline Phenomenology, Dual Diagnosed Clients, Dynamics of Family Therapy, Working With Angry Adolescents. For many years he was a featured and keynote speaker at numerous national and international conferences in the fields of neurofeedback, child psychology, Total Quality Management, and others. He developed and published the Five Phase Model of Neurofeedback which was the first and still the only, approach to clinical neurofeedback that integrated multiple protocols into a single comprehensive approach that could be used regardless of clinical presentation. With his background in mathematics, physics, computer programming, designing and implementing automated outcome studies as well as multimodal assessment, he was able to co-develop, with his wife Dr. Sue Brown, the Period Three Approach to neurofeedback. Their Approach was fundamental to their new and revolutionary neurofeedback system (later to become NeurOptimal®), showcasing their vision of Dynamical Neurofeedback™. Over time this was refined, always with an overarching commitment to safe, effective and effortless personal transformation that anyone can use. Now retired from actively programming, Dr. Brown directs the ongoing architectural development of NeurOptimal® as well as being intimately involved in ongoing Research and Development at Zengar.

Questions we ask in this episode:

• What are the main principles of neural feedback?
• What would a typical brain training session look like?
• How safe is the practice of brain training?

https://180nutrition.com.au/shop/

Hi Guys, this is Stu from 180 Nutrition, and I am delighted to welcome Dr. Valdeane Brown, PhD to the podcast. Dr. Brown, how are you?

Dr. Valdeane

01:30 I'm good. How about you Stuart?

Stu

01:31 Yeah, very well thank you. Again, thank you so much for sharing some of your time today. I'm very, very intrigued and keen to dive into some of the questions, but before we do that, I just wondered if you could tell our audience who may not be familiar with you, a little bit about who you are and what you do?

Dr. Valdeane

01:50 Yes. I'm licensed as a psychologist on inactive status in the US, and my wife is too, Dr. Sue Brown. She and I are the co developers of NeurOptimal brain training system, and we're the co founders of Zengar Institute Incorporated. It's the easiest to use, safest, and overall most interesting brain training system. Let's put it that way. Certainly the most advanced, in my opinion, and it really is about giving brain directly information about what it just did, so the brain itself sorts out what is best for it at that moment. It's not driving it any place in particular.

02:41 About 20 years ago, Sue and I decided that we really needed to create our own neuro feedback program. I was teaching at that time, neuro feedback, across a wide range of systems. Various conferences and things of that nature, and I just had had a very different vision for what neuro feedback could be. I actually had that vision all the way back in 1970, and that's kind of been my life's work. Most of that time waiting for technology to catch up to the place where it could implement what I had envisioned. So I'm definitely the visionary, shall we say?

For full transcript and interview:

https://180nutrition.com.au/180-tv/dr-valdeane-brown-interview/

This week, I'm excited to welcome Justine Switalla.  She is passionate and is on a mission to impact and empower women around the globe. Having landed in Melbourne in 2005, Justine hit the ground running within the fitness industry and she hasn’t looked back.

Questions we ask in this episode:

•  How important is it to work on our mindset if we want to crush our goals?
• What strategies to do use to help with positive mindset?
• How important do you think it is to create time for ourselves?

This week I'm excited to welcome Justine Switalla. Justine is a woman's health, fitness and wellness coach who's on a mission to impact and empower females around the globe. She believes that with the right support, attitude and tools anyone can overcome their personal road blocks and, ultimately, achieve their goals. In this episode we discuss the mindset, nutritional and physical strategies that have consistently produced results for her clients. Over to Justine.

01:14 Hey guys, this is Stu from 180 nutrition and I am delighted to welcome Justine Switalla to the podcast. Justine, how are you?

Justine

01:21 I'm good thank you, how are you?

Stu

01:24 Very well thank you, very well. We haven't had a good chat in a long time, so really, really keen to dig in to a little bit more about what you do and how you help people. And specifically in health and fitness and mindset and motivation today. But before I delve into all of the questions that I've got in my mind right now, I'd just love it if you could tell our listeners a little bit about who you are.

Justine

01:50 Sure. I mean I guess I'll just start with my fitness journey. I started about 15 years ago. I used to be a dental nurse and I didn't like the nine to five grind, didn't really enjoy the job and decided to find my passion which was in the fitness industry, so I began in a gym selling memberships, so I really didn't have any sort of direction as to where I wanted to go with it, but I just knew I wanted to be working in a gym. So I literally started at the bottom. And then from there I became a personal trainer, a group fitness instructor. I got into all the Les Mills classes and teaching Body Attack and RPM and then I did my first sort of fitness modeling show back in 2007 I think, like forever ago. And did that for a couple of years which sort of grew my name in a different sort of field in the industry and got me in with Oxygen Magazine. And yeah, so it sort of just snowballed from there and I loved what I did and I always sort of went out to do things I guess, and do things well.

02:49 I'm a bit of a perfectionist for myself, I like to set goals and achieve them and I felt like I really found my purpose. So I guess, throughout the years it sort of evolved onto the online sort of scene, so now I'm an online coach, I don't do any personal training in the gym as such anymore because I had a little boy five years ago, so once I got pregnant I was like, well I need to come up with a way to be able to stay at home with him and then still create an income. So I created Fit Healthy Mums and then my Mind Body Overhaul program, which is sort of the crux of what I do now. And my passion now really is, sort of throughout the years I guess I've learned a lot the hard way, I've done everything wrong, learned from my mistakes and now I'm really passionate about sort of steering women in the right direction, focusing on mindset, healthy relationships with food, with themselves, training, putting it all under the same umbrella, not focusing so much on aesthetics, but more so what's going on for women internally.

03:45 And the more I've worked with these women essentially over the last five years, the more I've realized how important it is that this sort of work is done for women because I think there's so much emphasis on the exterior, on the training and these days women just live such high-stressed lives, they're doing the work to sort of get ahead. So that's just become my absolute passion and emotional and mental transformations are just as exciting to me as physical ones. Yeah.

For full interview and podcast:

https://180nutrition.com.au/180-tv/

Join the 180 Nutrition community:

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This week we welcome James Swanwick to the show. James Swanwick (born 1975) is an Australian-American journalist and television and podcast host based in Hollywood, California. He is best known as a former anchor on the Australia and New Zealand version of ESPN’s Sportscenter, which is produced out of ESPN’s global headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. He hosts a podcast titled The James Swanwick Show, and has authored three books. Swanwick is co-founder of international media agency Crocmedia.

Questions we ask in this episode:

•  What’s the big deal with blue light?
• What can we do to ensure that we stay asleep during the night?
• What are the most common myths associated with sleep?

Stu ‎

This week, I’m excited to welcome James Swanwick. James is an Australian American investor, entrepreneur, speaker, health coach, former SportsCenter anchor on ESPN, and host of the James Swanwick Show podcast. He’s the creator of blue light blocking glasses called Swannies from Swanwick Sleep, which help people reduce their blue light exposure and ultimately sleep better. In this episode, we discuss the strategies, tools, and tips that help us to achieve deeper and more restorative sleep. Over to James.

01:20 Hey guys, this is Stu from 180 Nutrition, and I’m delighted to welcome James Swanwick to the podcast. James, how are you mate?

James

01:27 Stu, I’m doing so well. Thank you so much for having me.

Stu

01:30 Thank you. Well, thank you for coming on. I’m really intrigued and interested in hearing your story and also talking a little bit about your passion for sleep as well. So before we get into that, and for all of our listeners that may not be familiar with you, I wondered if you could just tell us a little bit about yourself, thanks.

James

01:51 Yeah, well I’m an Australian American. I live in Venice Beach, California, and I was always a social drinker I guess you could say. I grew up in the Australian culture, having a couple beers each night and wine in the afternoon. Also, we’d have a bit of wine on the weekends. And then I quit drinking in 2010 just for lifestyle reasons, and my life’s been pretty fantastic since then. And I now help entrepreneurs, health conscious people either quit drinking for 30 days or 90 days, or just quit drinking forever. And then I also became somewhat of a sleep expert in that I help people sleep better. I have a sleep company called Swanwick Sleep, and I guess you could say I’m a health-preneur in as much as that I like to create businesses out of my health habits.

 For full interview and transcript:

 https://180nutrition.com.au/180-tv/james-swanwick-interview/

Join the 180 Nutrition community:

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180 Nutrition blog: https://180nutrition.com.au/blog/

iTunes Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/180-nutritions-podcast/id643508818?mt=2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/180nutrition

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/180nutrition/

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This week we welcome Gary Collins to the show. Gary Collins has a very interesting and unique background that includes military intelligence, Special Agent for the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Collins’ background and expert knowledge brings a much-needed perspective to today’s areas of simple living, health, nutrition, entrepreneurship, self-help and being more self-reliant. He holds an AS degree in Exercise Science, BS in Criminal Justice, and MS in Forensic Science.

Gary was raised in the High Desert at the basin of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in a rural part of California. He now lives off-the-grid part of the year in a remote area of NE Washington State, and the other part of year exploring in his travel trailer with his trusty black lab Barney.

He enjoyed, and considers himself lucky to have grown up in a very small town experiencing fishing, hunting, and anything outdoors from a very young age. He has been involved in organized sports, nutrition, and fitness for almost four decades. He is also an active follower and teacher of what he calls “life simplification.” He often says:

“Today we’re bombarded by too much stress, not enough time for personal fulfillment, and failing to take care of our health… there has to be a better way!”

In addition to being a best selling author, he has taught at the University College level, consulted and trained college level athletes, and been interviewed for his expertise on various subjects by CBS Sports, Coast to Coast AM, The RT Network, and FOX News to name a few.

His website www.thesimplelifenow.com, and The Simple Life book series (his total lifestyle reboot), blows the lid off of conventional life and wellness expectations, and is considered essential for every person seeking a simpler, and happier life.

Questions we ask in this episode:

•  What advice would you offer to those of us stuck in a rut?
• You’ve likened free-diving to meditation, has it helped you become a more mindful person?
•  How do you mentally prepare for diving with dangerous sharks?

For full transcript and interview:

https://180nutrition.com.au/180-tv/gary-collins-interview/ ‎

 This week we welcome Kayleigh Burns to the show.  Kayleigh “Kay” works at One Ocean Diving on the North Shore of Oahu taking people from all around the world diving with sharks. Sharks are the worlds most misunderstood creatures that are vital for the health of our ocean’s ecosystems. By introducing humans to sharks she is able to change perceptions from fear to fascination in hopes of inspiring change for these animals. Her efforts in expanding environmental conservation can be felt heavily through her work in unifying ambassadors globally. One of her current projects involves raising awareness about reef safe sunscreen ingredients to help protect the world's corals.

Questions we ask in this episode:

•  What advice would you offer to those of us stuck in a rut?
• You’ve likened free-diving to meditation, has it helped you become a more mindful person?
•  How do you mentally prepare for diving with dangerous sharks?

https://180nutrition.com.au/

Stu

00:02 This week I’m excited to welcome Kayleigh Burns. Kayleigh is a shark biologist and safety diver based on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii. She has a passion for the ocean, and currently works at One Ocean Diving, where she is involved in shark research, conservation, and education.

00:19 In this episode, we discuss how Kayleigh followed her dreams, found her life’s purpose, and the mindset required to free dive with great white sharks. Over to

Kayleigh

Hey guys, this is Stu from 180 Nutrition, and I am delighted to welcome Kayleigh Burns to the podcast. Kayleigh, how are you?

00:42 Aloha. I am doing so good. How are you guys?

Stu

00:45 Very well, very well. You know, you’re the first person to ever say Aloha to me on this podcast, so I feel-

Kayleigh

00:51 It’s a very beautiful word.

Stu

00:53 It is a beautiful word, and you’re certainly in a beautiful country, so I’m super keen to talk about that in a second. But first up, for all of those that may not be familiar with you and your work, could you just tell us a little bit about yourself, please?

Kayleigh

01:08 Absolutely. So, my name is Kayleigh Burns, and I work at One Ocean Diving. I’m a shark biologist and safety diver. Our organization is located on the North Shore of Oahu, and what we do is … Yes, beautiful place in Hawaii, for those of you that aren’t familiar with the island names.

01:28 But what we do is we take people, essentially, diving with sharks every single day, but it definitely does not end there. We have shark research that we’re a part of, as well as conservation, education, and the diving, of course.

For full transcript and interview:

https://180nutrition.com.au/180-tv/kayleigh-burns-interview/

This week we welcome Alexx Stuart to the show. She is an educator, activist and change agent who runs online courses and hosts a podcast for those wanting to reduce their toxic load in everyday life. She's at the forefront of a movement that's non-judgmental, gentle on the body and skin, and tough on the companies selling produces masquerading as food or safe cleaning products. A columnist for Wellbeing magazine, she also a sought-after speaker and consultant to businesses committing to change for good.

Questions we ask in this episode:

• What is low tox living and why is it important?
• Where should we start if we want to embrace this way of living?
• What ‘low hanging fruit’ could we address where our health is concerned?

http://180nutrition.com.au/

 Stu

This week, I'm excited to welcome Alexx Stuart. Alexx is an educator, activist and change agent who runs online courses and host a podcast for those wanting to reduce their toxic load in everyday life, Alexx calls this low tox living. In this episode we discuss the principles of following a low tox lifestyle and focus on the areas that could be unknowingly impacting our health. Over to Alexx.

01:12 Hey guys, this is Stu from 180 Nutrition and I am delighted to welcome Alexx Stuart back onto the podcast. Alexx, how are you?

Alexx

01:20 I am so great. Thanks, Stu. It's so great to be here with you. Sorry for the mood lighting I've got happening on my side. I've retreated to my parents. There's construction everywhere around our place at the moment. So, I figured quiet and moody was better than noisy and bright, right?

Stu

01:38 It looks super comfortable behind you.

01:40 It is. Yeah.

01:42 Excellent. So before we get into the questions today, for any of our listeners that might not be familiar with your work, could you just tell us a little bit about yourself please?

Alexx

01:51 Yeah, for sure. So I'm an author of a book that came out last year, The Tox Life. But the story goes way, way, way back into the past. And the whole reason I ended up in health education, even though I had a successful career in hospitality and prior to that in cosmetics in the beauty industry, was through a series of events that I like to call waves of realization, if you like. The first one being a retrospective realization that when I left cosmetics I also left the world of migraines and I was like, "Oh." I didn't really know to dig as to what was in the industry that might be causing those migraines. But I literally stopped getting migraines once I left the beauty industry. So I knew there was something there.

02:40 Then I had this recurrent tonsillitis situation, and so many people will hear this and go, "Yeah, I've been on that merry-go-round" where you go to the doctor because you feel unwell, get the drugs, you take the drugs, you feel better, you feel better for a couple of months, then you feel crap. Then you go to the doctor, then you get drugs and with antibiotics, as some people may or may not know, antibiotic resistance starts to creep in. So you get put on stronger and stronger and stronger ones and of course you're killing more and more and more good gut bugs at the same time.

03:11 And I found myself in a situation where antibiotics didn't work and this was really my wake up call to stop doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. It just wasn't making me better. And I was a thriving 28-year-old in every other area of my life. And I was like, "I can't go on like this. This is ridiculous." And so a friend said, 'I know it might be a bit crazy, but why don't you go see a naturopath?" Which, 15 years ago was a bit of a cuckoo thing to do. even though now, thank gosh, there's one on every street corner helping us build stronger bodies. But back then it was a bit weird and I went and she put me on some revolting tasting herbs that have since come to love the taste of, and a really simple and strict three day, if you have to eat something, just have some really well cooked brown rice, chicken stock and carrots and that's it. I just don't want you doing anything too complicated for your system.

04:05 And I got better in three days. I sweated it all out and it was really quite astounding to me that some herbs from plants could actually ship tonsillitis. She suggested I quit gluten containing foods as a longer term strategy to stop it from reoccurring because she had read in the research that was starting to come out that there was a strong link between [inaudible 00:04:32] bugs and a gluten, in terms of gluten feeding them and then causing proliferation, et cetera.

04:42 So I was desperate. I gave it a go even though as a half Frenchie that was probably the worst news I could have ever received. [foreign language 00:04:49] all the good things. But it worked. And the really interesting thing in that time was it got me looking at food labels for the first time in my life. I actually had to look at the ingredients because a few months off gluten and then you'd accidentally have it in a restaurant or something. I really noticed a huge issue with it, but it's kind of like the cows getting grain fed from the late '60s and onward and then realizing you got to give them a tiny bit and then a tiny bit more and then a tiny ... You never realize you're not meant to feel average.

05:28 And so I had started to feel great and then boom. And so I really knew these things were hurting me and I had gluten in every meal. They would have been in my pre 28-year-old self. every single meal, there would have been some form of gluten. And so it was really interesting to see how it was in products that were causing, as they were called health products, breakfast shakes and those sorts of high protein this and low fat that.

05:54 It really started me questioning food companies and questioning our whole system that allows us to trust that they're doing the right thing by us. And they're really, really not, and our government just lets it happen and this is happening all over the world. So, I had been a bit of an activist in my teen years, joined Greenpeace first day of uni. I was that chick. I kind of put it all to bed, you get the good career, the boyfriend, you start on your little societal checklist. I was raised quite conservatively.
Alexx: 06:29 And so, I forgot myself really. And this really woke that up. I was like, "How is this allowed?" I got really riled up by it. And then cut to a few years later when my son was about to be born and I got all the well meaning gifts at the baby shower, I started to think, "Well, I'm really good at reading food labels that why don't I give these labels ago, go and have a look at what's in these products before I start lathering them all on my precious unborn."

06:58 And I was horrified to learn that about 90% of what was in there was petroleum derived. That really then sent me on the journey of learning what these chemicals were, I discovered endocrine disrupting chemical families. I discovered the word fragrance and how that can have up to 140 different chemical compounds inside it's secret little word recipe thing there. And again, my sense of justice around the secrecy and the lack of longterm research done before things are brought out to market.

07:32 Really just, for me, those two things happening in a bit of a wave and a few little things in between made me think I need to focus my skills on education, empowerment, and motivation and nerdiness. I always liked a bit of a nerd factor.

For Full Transcript and interview:

https://180nutrition.com.au/180-tv/alexx-stuart-interview/