We’re not sick by accident: The food industry exposed

Well, come to the untold, take it deep breath, take the higher road, that's why they always say, as if they know the way, they won't take it from me.

But don't ever doubt yourself by swiping just a drain, you made your own so kick and scream.

The people will lie with a never-ending force, you never have the chance, so watch your waiting for it.

This is come, my friend, cause this is one.

It's time and this is one.

Welcome back to The Nurses Report. I'm your host Ashley Caputo, and today we're diving into something that affects every single one of us.

Even our kids, and honestly, it's not being talked about the way that it should.

We're talking about food, or what we're calling food, because a lot of what we're sitting on the grocery store shelves right now, it's just not real food.

It's manufactured, engineered, chemically altered substances designed to be addictive, shelf stable, and profitable, not Nordicine.

And here's the problem. We're watching chronic illness skyrocket, hormonal dysfunction, insulin resistance, gut disorders, anxiety, ADHD, behavioral issues, and kids, autoimmune conditions, cancer, and instead of asking, what are we putting into our bodies every single day?

We're just prescribing more medications.

So today I've got Amy Whitlock joining me again, she's been on before, but today we're actually going to be focusing on nutrition, real food, and how we've gotten so far off track.

She's trained through Trinity School, so we're also going to break down in a practical way, what you should actually buy at the grocery store, what you should avoid, and how do you start making changes without feeling overwhelmed?

Because this is not about perfection, it's about awareness, and taking your power back. So Amy, welcome back to the nurses report.

Thank you. I love the segue that you're mentioning automatically what is nutrition, and so that was like my first point.

Luckily, we, I think we have forgotten the definition of nutrition, and so we're just going to read exactly what it says is defined as the act or process of nourishing or being nourished specifically.

But as some of the processes by which an animal or plant takes on all and utilizes food substances, foods that are necessary for human nutrition, human nutrition.

And so I think that's why everything that we're seeing at the store these days, everything that's that's boxed has been stripped of that nourishment and it's full of preservatives because it has to sit there forever before someone goes and picks it off the shelf.

Yeah, the shelf stay, I mean, because if you think about it, it's manufacturers, the people making these foods are not looking at how can I make people healthy?

They're looking at how can they make a profit and make enough food stay good long enough to be on the shelves and continue to be profitable.

Because I mean, if you do look at food waste, how much stuff gets tossed because it gets expired or the sell by date.

So they want to make that sell by date, that expiration as long as possible.

And in order to do that, they're putting a bunch of junk in our food.

Yeah.

We are so inundated with commercials. So it's almost like we hear it and see it at home.

And then when we go to the grocery store, it's just like our brain pulls that memory reference.

And then we see it on the shelf and we're like, oh, let's get that product.

And we just, we're so inundated that we don't take the time to review and to remember what really is nourishment.

What are we doing within our bodies to really nurture it?

And I think like the definitions are nurture to rear to promote growth.

And we have to get back to what is what really is going to do that.

And it's our food.

And it's that whole concept of food versus not food.

What really is food?

How do you define food?

Because if you really look at the definition of nutrition, nourishment food, there's not much food in the grocery store.

It's honestly classified, not food.

And that is really alarming.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's really scary.

You know, I, I would love to tell everybody, hey, the best advice I have is you look at that ingredient list.

And if it's not something that you keep in your kitchen, don't buy it.

It's not something that you need to put in your body.

But the reality is like what you said, we get taken in by this advertisement and by what it says on the box or what it says on the bag.

And I catch myself doing it.

And it's almost like this unconscious thing.

You know, maybe I saw a commercial or maybe I saw some influencer have a certain brand.

And when I'm at the store, I'm like, oh, that looks good and grab it.

And then I've gotten home and looked at the back.

And I'm like, why did I buy this?

You know, because you start reading the ingredient list.

So it's easy to get caught up in that.

And one thing I get so mad is that a lot of it's marketed to our children.

And as a mom, you know, being in the grocery store, when your child is begging for these things, it's really hard to put your foot down.

And say no.

And they want all the things that are not food.

Right.

Right.

I have failed transitioning.

And so going to the store using the app, doing a pickup or delivery, because you can look in the app under the product.

And you can see what's in the product.

Like you can read the nutrition label.

You can read the ingredients.

And so that kind of, I guess, and it's exciting to have a delivery.

Like the kids are like, oh, when is it coming?

And so like the only thing, like what you're given them opportunity to see.

So that kind of helps.

I'm going to know everybody's not in a location that has deliveries or pickups.

But that's something helpful that we've started doing recently.

That's a good, that's a good tip.

Because you do kind of impulse buy when you're at the grocery store.

And it's really hard to say no to the kids.

I mean, I usually break down and they are at least getting a chocolate bar or something.

Because otherwise it's a big fit.

But they know that there's foods I don't let them have.

And we can usually find a compromise.

So I think that's important too for parents to be able to say, okay, these fruit snacks.

We're not going to get, but how about this?

And you know, finding an alternative.

Speaking of grocery stores, so I think grocery stores are hard.

Because like you said, there's no, there's not a lot of food.

So what would your tip be for going to the grocery store and finding something that's actually food?

I tell all of my clients to shop perimeter.

That's why you're going to get your meats, your fresh fruits, and your vegetables.

And because basically anything in the center aisle, it's boxed.

I've got an operation date for, you know, that's my gun is probably a year and a half from now.

So I tell everyone to shop the perimeter.

And if there's something in the grocery store in that center aisle that you want,

we can help you reinvent the wheel.

There is a lot of clients that I've helped in the past, they want like a certain cookie.

I find a recipe and love it.

Oh, do you know what?

They like it.

It's better.

It's healthier.

And just, you know, the fact that we can coach our clients to do this is amazing.

But the fact that we have to, there's not a lot of people that understand that the good stuff's on the perimeter.

And even a lot of grocery stores have that health food section.

There's aisles there too.

It's still packaged food.

And a lot of times it's full of carbs and it's, you know,

and all preservatives are not bad.

I mean, honey is a natural preservative, preservative.

You know, Himalayan salt is a natural preservative.

I'm not saying all preservatives are bad.

But what's in that center aisle?

It's not good for you.

And it's been linked to ADHD.

And, you know, that's why our kids are spaced out in school.

And, you know, what's the worst time?

And during school, the slump hour, the hour of lunch.

Because, like, they're not getting real food.

They're getting not food.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think that's an important point too.

Because what we put in our bodies is going to dictate how you feel throughout the day too.

So, you know, and I feel for these kids.

And I don't think it's the fault of anyone.

Like, we're not here to mom shame or anything like that.

Because trust me, I am far from perfect, especially when it comes to food for my kids.

You know, but some of the kids, so they, you know, parents work.

So they get dropped off at school in the morning.

And they have breakfast.

Well, what do they have for breakfast?

It's like French toast sticks.

It's cereal, skin milk, you know, juice.

These are the options that they have.

And then if they eat the school lunch, you know, there's.

I always remember in school, like on Fridays, we had pizza and French fries.

Like, who does that?

But that was one of the options.

And sometimes there's healthier options.

But if there's unhealthy options available, a lot of the times the kids aren't going to choose the healthy.

And then, you know, and then they come home, they're starved.

And so then they have snacks there.

And then all of this dictates their behavior, how they feel.

And we're just really setting them up for failure.

Because if you look at the rate of how many kids are on ADHD medications, it's insane.

I mean, it's mind blowing.

That there's a realizing it.

I know multiple.

That they're seeing a link between those days.

And the child's behavior and kudos to them.

I mean, they're really trying.

And you know, you can't reinvent the wheel overnight, but it starts with one little change.

You know, maybe it's changing, you know, from a boxed cookie to a homemade cookie,

our boxed muffin to a high fiber, homemade muffin.

But yeah, it's daunting to me that we have so much not food versus real food.

Anything that's processed that can sit on the grocery store shelf, it's been stripped of its nutrients.

And, you know, we've even even medical professions aren't taught that.

I mean, there's a very small percentage of MDs that even have any type of nutritional training.

And I'm hoping with RFK coming on the scene.

I'm hoping a lot of this is going to change so that parents can have the opportunity to not feel guilty, you know, about having to turn to this box substance.

I mean, a lot of people, a lot of parents both are working.

And they don't have a choice.

You've got to get something in your kids.

But maybe it's just the little changes adding more fiber, you know, to help balance the carbon take.

There's so many things that we can do.

Before we completely revolutionize the whole entire pantry.

Yeah, yeah, because that's overwhelming to people too.

If I were to go into somebody's house and say, I need you to throw everything away.

And first of all, that's expensive.

And then it's overwhelming.

So I think, you know, making the small changes and the more you know, the better you do.

Right.

So that next time you go to the grocery store, you might make some different choices that you didn't make before, you know.

So, yeah, I think it just starts with, like you said, just one small change, some education.

But I think we have to do better as a society because when that stuff is there, people are going to buy it.

So I'm all for, I remember, you know, when this whole maha movement started.

And people were pushing, like you have the food babe, I love her.

And she's out there protesting like Kellogg's and, you know, wanting them to have better ingredients.

And I remember one of the arguments being, well, they shouldn't be eating cereal anyway.

So who cares, you know, why are you fighting so hard to get better ingredients in a food that's just not good for you anyway.

And I guess that people are not going to stop eating it.

So if people are going to eat it, let's at least have safe ingredients.

But then also we can't market it as a health food.

You can't market it as a well-rounded breakfast.

Have you noticed cereal is kind of being marketed as a snack now?

And not a breakfast?

We've seen some marketing.

So it is shifting.

It's just a slow process.

But, you know, that was my thing is like people are going to make the people have the freedom to choose what they want.

And not everybody is going to hop on board and eat a full healthy real food diet.

But the choices of these ultra processed foods that they are eating, like let's not give them cancer while they're doing it.

At least have be transparent and have the have safe ingredients that maybe you're not getting a lot of nutrition, but at least it's not completely detrimental to your health.

And I think it's important when we have our clients to coach them because this was like this happened to me last year.

I had a new client and she was like, I can't do what you're asking me to do.

I can't afford it.

And I was like, give me your list that you're going to buy at the grocery store.

And so I went into my out and, you know, basically did the healthy swap and her total was relatively lower.

Yeah.

How'd you do that?

I don't think people realize it's really not, it does not have to be expensive.

It can be.

It can be.

Many years ago, like 18 years ago, I took a course at naturally healthy.

Unfortunately, the school has closed down because Shonda Parker.

Shonda Parker, they're an amazing teacher.

She passed away, but I loved her philosophy.

And she was just like, okay, you have to start small, you know, get a healthy flower.

She was all about grinding wheat.

And I know you've had a show about that recently.

And she was like, if you're gluten free, you get your gluten free flower.

Just get the bare ingredients.

And you would be surprised how far it will go.

We were people are spending three and four hundred dollars a week at the grocery store.

But are they really buying food?

What are they really buying?

So, so I like to do that for my clients.

Like I'm like, send me your grocery lists and my recipes.

We can change this into, because if they're already going to cook, I'm not asking them to cook.

They're already cooking.

We just re-end the wheel a little bit and do things a little differently.

And she was shocked.

She was shocked that her grocery bill went down.

Yeah.

And that was because she wasn't buying cookies every week.

She wasn't, you know, buying the boxed cereal.

She learned to buy healthy things in quantity so that it's lasting two weeks.

And, you know, even for the busy parents that are having to get up at five o'clock and, you know, get out the door,

there's simple things that we can do instead of cereal.

We can do overnight oats.

We can do, you know, homemade granola.

And it doesn't take long to do these things.

And I think it's just a, like, people need to be coached into, like, pivoting their thinking.

Because we've been so coached in the other direction.

Yeah.

You have, I mean, because I grew up, like, in the 80s and the 90s.

And if you remember then, there was this huge push for low fat foods.

And it was so bad.

I don't know.

I know.

It was so bad.

I remember, like, I used to drink slim fast every single day.

My grandmother gave it to me.

She was like, here's some vitamins and nutrients, you know, drinking this.

But then also we had a pantry full of cereal.

Well, it was all fat free.

Cereal doesn't have a lot of fat in it.

So it was like free range.

We had low fat pop tarts.

We had cereal.

We had all these things.

We sweetened our tea with sweet and low.

And, you know, I look back and I'm like, what, what were we doing?

You know, our grandparents and parents didn't know any better.

That's when they worked out because at that time, that's what was being pushed.

That's what was being marketed.

And I think it's so important that we advocate for our families and we study these things out.

And, you know, and I know everybody can't afford organic.

I'm not saying, you know, you better buy organic or it's Doomsday.

You know, there's things that we can do.

There is that dirty dozen list.

I think you're familiar with that.

Yeah.

And I just put that link too for the EWG dirty dozen.

They just came out with a new list recently.

Yeah.

Well, the one I have is spinach strawberries, kale and collards.

Speaking of collards, I mean, those boogers are the easiest to grow.

I will have master collared growers.

They're so easy.

Yes.

But grapes.

I recently purchased just regular grapes.

It was just like one of those weeks that, you know, I'm just going to have to grab it and not get the organic one.

I got them home.

They was a film.

I think you can't get it off either.

I threw them away.

I wouldn't even give them to my chickens.

I was like, what is that?

So, you know, we, we are just very careful with our organics.

Like we, we have to store them properly so that they do last.

And more things on the dirty dozen as peaches, cherries and nectarines.

I didn't know until this morning that nectarines was on the list.

Yeah.

I didn't know that.

Pairs, apples, blackberries and blueberries.

So, those are the dirty dozen.

Now, if I have to buy something like that, I will do like a wash.

I'll do a baking soda wash or sometimes I'll do half vinegar, half water and just let them soak.

You'd be surprised how much stuff is coming off of your.

But, you know, honestly, anything with a peeling that you can peel.

If you can get that peeling off, it's safer.

So, if you can't go organic, go with something with a peeling.

Like bananas.

You don't have to know.

Even though bananas are pretty, organic bananas are pretty cheap.

But, but something like that that you're, you're not eating that peel.

Yeah, safer.

And I noticed, I think some of the, the root vegetables seem to be.

I think because you don't have to use as much pesticide.

Right.

Maybe with those.

I mean, it's, it's still important because you have to consider where it's sourced because the soils have been so stripped of nutrition.

So, you know, and I know there's this big debate, GMO, non-GMO, you know, wants to say GMO, all this.

But in my studies, one thing that I found very interesting, and I don't know if you've seen this study or not,

but if something doesn't have a seed, it is closer.

I mean, it's still food because you got like seedless watermelon.

It's still watermelon, but the seeded watermelon has more life.

It has more enrichment because it has the live source of the seed.

I don't know if you've seen that study, but I don't know.

Don't tell my kids that because they think I have lost my mind if I buy a watermelon with seeds in it.

And I was like, y'all, this is, this is childhood because I remember being a kid and you, you go eat your watermelon outside and you,

you get to spit the watermelon seeds, you know, as you eat it.

So, that's just something I did growing up.

My kids are so spoiled because I bought watermelons, just not even paying attention.

And most of them that you find in the grocery store are the seedless ones.

And so when I came home with a watermelon with seeds in it, they thought that I had definitely bought the wrong thing.

But, you know, that's, that's their playing with our food, you know.

They are.

Well, you want to stay as close to, if I can say this, you want to say it's close to God's creation as possible.

Oh, yeah.

Um, a, it's a very biblical way to eat because life is in that seed.

And it's meant to, you know, it's meant to go through this germination process.

And then you, you plant one or two seeds and you get this bumper crop.

Like the seeds are meant to be there.

And so like it, when I read that study, I thought, oh, that is so interesting.

Because when I was growing up, like, that's when seedless watermelons appeared,

and I was like, how cool is that?

Yeah.

But now I'm trying to buy more seeded.

Yeah.

And if you think about it, like I didn't, it did, it never crossed my mind until I read the study.

But if you think about it, the seed, having that life bearing, you know, fruit about it, it does make sense.

Yeah.

And how, how crazy is it to think, um, that you can't replant?

Because if you garden at all, so for all the gardeners out there, one of the bonuses is, you know, you plant your food.

And when you're starting from scratch, your, your buying seeds or sourcing seeds from somewhere.

And then you plant.

And then when you harvest, you're also saving these seeds so you can replant next year.

You know, and so it's crazy to me to think that you can grow a watermelon.

But you can't continue growing the watermelon.

There's no way to replant it, you know, um, and so I think that's kind of a big red flag where, where we're interfering with how our foods produced.

And you're probably, I mean, I don't know this for sure.

You probably know better than I do with the study, but it's probably less nutrient dense is kind of what we see across the board when we talk about altering.

You know, these foods, you're just not getting, they're not necessarily bad for you, but you're not getting the nutrients that you need from these foods.

And then to go back to what you said to about the soil.

That's been a huge problem because it's, um, when you don't have the nutrients that you need in the soil, then the produce that you're growing doesn't have the nutrient content either.

And that's where supplementation kind of comes in because we're not getting what we need.

Um, and I love the argument of you should be able to get all your vitamins and minerals and nutrients from a well-balanced diet.

I love that.

It's really hard.

Some of my clients aren't even able.

Like, you know, some of them may have like pallet issues and they literally, like there's some of the kids on the spectrum.

They can't swallow some of this food.

You have to supplement.

Like I am all about whole foods, like give me all the food foods.

I want everything green on my plate.

Um, but they are again, if the supplements are in a good quality and they're not bioavailable, meaning like your body is going to have the ability to take in the supplements nourishment.

You know, I personally, I don't have a lot of confidence in the vitamins sitting on the shelf at Walmart or say that.

Um, because they have, it's just like the food.

If it's sitting on that shelf for any amount of time, and if you look at those vitamins, they have, they have a really lengthy expiration date.

So it's so important that the synthetic nutrients aren't creating the laboratory and turning to a vitamin marketed to you as safe and wholesome because that really happens.

Yeah, and I think, um, you know, with the supplement too, like you could eat a perfect diet and probably still be lacking in a lot of nutrients.

It's really hard to get all of it, you know, and so unfortunately, I don't think someone should have like shelves of supplements and take 50 pills a day.

And, you know, it doesn't have to be crazy, but you do have to think about like where you might be lacking and where you might need to supplement and finding that good quality supplement makes a world of difference.

And, um, you come from herbs and from like where the supplement source it should come from herbs and foods like whole foods because you can buy things that do come from these sources.

And again, sourcing, check the company out.

If they're not very new and you have no idea where they're sourced, I wouldn't trust it.

Um, if they have a history and they're third party tested and, you know, I mean, I love anything that's EWG verified, like I mean, yeah, get the app, you know, scan it, you know, scan the barcode.

But yeah, it's, it's so important and you know, something else parents can do if they're worried about their own soil, like maybe they want to grow a garden, but maybe they're, you know, living in an area that's flagged for bad soil.

Go to an organic farmers market. I mean, that, that's so helpful. We had a season that we could not garden and I love the farmers market.

So that's an option to, um, you know, and they're fun and getting the sun and the bottom of the, yeah, go ahead.

Oh, no, well, I was going to say because we have so much more to talk about. We do have to take a quick break.

But then, but I want to pick up this conversation when we get back. And I also want to talk about what these ultra processed foods, which, what these non foods are doing inside of our body and why it's leading to disease and so much like just metabolic chaos.

Um, so I want to dive into that when we get back. So you guys stick with us. Thank you for listening to the nurses report. We'll be right back.

This is Dr. Peter McCullough. You know me from America Love Pulse and the McCullough report while I'm inviting you to join me in Nashville, July 2nd, 3rd and 4th for a truly historic experience in 2026.

I'm calling all Patriots to be a part of this unforgettable weekend, packed with Inspired Entertainment, incredible fireworks, and nationally recognized speakers who proudly stand for Freedom.

Together with you and our partners, Clear and the Wellness Company, we'll celebrate two major milestones, 250 years of America and 10 years of America Out Loud News led by Malcolm out Loud.

I can't wait to see you there because your presence matters and you are family. So make history with me and Malcolm.

Register now at americaloudloud.news forward slash Nashville. That's americaloudloud.news forward slash Nashville. We'll see you there.

The smartest food on the planet doesn't come from a lab or in a package. It grows in a class jar.

I'm Doug Evans, author of the National Best Seller, The Sprout Book. Sprouts deliver up to 100 times the antioxidants of mature vegetables. They grow in just three to five days for under a dollar serving.

Get your sprouting kit at thespoutingcompany.com slash out loud. Use the code out loud for an exclusive offer.

Successful weight loss is about changing the gut-brain relationship with food. I'm Dr. Kelly Victory with the Wellness Company. If you don't like needles, you'll love oral dissolving Terzepatide RX.

This doctor-designed solution works by targeting the GLP1 and GIP receptors that influence appetite and metabolism. Terzepatide helps with food portion reduction and satiety while changing how the brain responds to engineered sugars and unhealthy fats.

And unlike injections, these are fast, absorbing, sublingual tablets placed under the tongue, paired with an energy boost of B6 and B12.

Visit twc.health slash out loud and use code out loud for an exclusive discount.

In just two minutes per day, you could reclaim your health and cut your grocery bill in half with one simple convenient product.

Our Dr. formulated green 85 juice formulas, powerful dose of ultra-concentrated essential nutrients stops hunger in its tracks and supplies your cells with what's missing in the grocery store food.

Go to chemicalfreebody.com forward slash out loud today, get nature's super multivitamin green 85, empower your immune system, cut down on your grocery bill and save 20% on your first order.

You wouldn't go a day without brushing your teeth or washing your hands. What about washing your nose? I mean, your nose does filter the air you breathe.

Air loaded with bacteria, viruses and irritants. Make nasal hygiene part of your routine with clear. No messy bottles to fill, no drowning sensation. Clear as a natural drug-free saline with the added benefit of xylitol, which blocks bacterial and viral adhesion.

Available in stores and online at clear.com. That is X L E A R dot com.

Welcome back to the nurses report. I'm Ashley here host today and with me, I have Amy Whitlock and we are talking all things nutrition, grocery store food, supplements, all the things that seems to be making headlines.

I think lately, ever since RFK Jr. got into office, it's just being talked about more, which I think is really exciting, whether you agree with their take or not, I think that it's great that it's being put out there and that we are talking about it more.

So before the break, we were talking about just kind of the lack of nutrients in our food and that's, there's a couple reasons for that, right?

Like we talked about the soil, just not having been depleted over over-formed, over-sourced, and then you also have these ultra-process foods that can't really even be classified as food that are completely lacking in nutrients.

And whatever nutrients they have in them, it's usually the fancy way that they like to put it is that it's fortified, which makes it sounds good, you know, it makes it sound good, but it's synthetic.

And so your body is probably not even absorbing and utilizing it because it's synthetic.

So, you know, we're just kind of lacking in a lot of different areas. So let's talk about kind of the downfall of what all this is causing.

So we have all these ultra-processed foods, we have these foods lacking in nutrients, we have fast food, we have all this stuff, what is it doing to the inside of our body? Like why is this even a big deal?

Infortified literally means it was previously stripped from its own nourishment to create a shelf life.

And like, you know, they had years ago, they had to fortify things because when they originally started stripping the wheat, you know, the whole wheatberry story, when they started stripping those things from the wheatberry, people were getting sick.

So the government had to go in and fortify, you know, the flower. So yeah, it's doing crazy things to our bodies and our kids' mental state and, you know, getting back to the study of, you know, back in the 80s and 90s, the whole low fat craze.

Personally, I believe that is why we see so much dementia because like, yeah, I, yeah, taking away our fats, we were starving our brains. Like our brains need fat.

So yeah, it's doing a lot of unnecessary things. And I think there are some things that we can do proactively as parents, caregivers, nurses, health coaches, health practitioners.

There are so many things that we can advocate for our clients and help them learn a better way.

Yeah. Yeah, because it's, it's seriously the root of a lot of problems. So I work with a lot of people that have cardiovascular disease, diabetes, they have leaky gut, they have all sorts of like IBS and sensitivities and things like that.

And when you look at it, it kind of all goes back to food. There's so many hormones and so many things regulated in your gut and all these ultra processed foods are disrupting our gut.

And if you have food lacking in nutrients, you're not feeding that good bacteria that lives in your gut.

And so it gives the opportunity for this bad bacteria to kind of take over. And then we start to see inflammation and then inflammation leads to leaky gut.

And then that leads to a whole slew of problems. So when we talk about the gut, because you, you hear that a lot, you know, gut microbiome and probiotics and stuff.

Where, how does somebody get their gut kind of back on track, even when you're switching up your diet, like maybe you're focusing on whole foods, but what do we need to do to get our gut healthy again?

I mean, I think that your pantry, your refrigerator, your cabinets, there's one of two things in there. There's either illness or there's wellness.

And there needs to be things available, things like sauerkraut. I know that sounds old fashioned and grandma, but sauerkraut, kombucha, things that have those good live probiotics.

And I know a lot of people are like, ooh, I can't do that. Well, if you can't do that, you better have a good live multi-strand probiotic, prebiotic and probiotic. I don't ever recommend just solo pro.

I like the prebiotic fiber as well. And then just focus on an anti-inflammatory diet, because if you've already gotten to the point that you're experiencing leaky gut, you've probably already experiencing sort of like neuroinflammatory process.

I have in the past work with a lot of spectrum children, and most of them have like this inflammatory process going on urologically, and they all have leaky gut, and they all generally all of them had a yeast overgrowth.

And that's because their their their gut was so weak from lack of nourishment from from the lack of pre and pro, and it's honestly like it's not their fault. It's not the parents fault. It's an I mean, I hate to say that we grew up in a society that created this, but here we are.

But I would honestly, you know, focus on the gut because over 80% of your immune system is in your gut. Yes, yeah, how crazy is that?

And yeah, it's so important, you know, because hormones are regulated as well in the gut. And when we talk about serotonin, that's something that's really being pushed now is linking depression to diet. And I think it's so bizarre that there's such pushback on this.

Because they're scientific evidence like I could link a bunch of studies, you know, in our show notes, but it's crazy because the information's right there at your fingertips, but people don't want to believe that I don't think.

And one thing I noticed, I, I was a director of nursing for a while for this company, we provided in home services for people on Medicaid waivers.

So a lot of them were children on the spectrum, right, because they get all the therapies and they get assistance in the home and things like that. Well, one thing I noticed, because I got all the doctors orders, they all recommended a keto diet.

And well, I shouldn't say all most of them recommend it. Now the parents struggled with this right because there's texture issues and things like that. But a lot of it was keto diet or gluten free diet. And it was just kind of like, okay, if we know this, if we know that this can help, if you are autistic, why are we not pushing this to prevent illness and prevent disease and to treat other behavioral disorders?

Like ADHD and things like that, you know, we know removing sugar and food dye helps with children's behavior, yet there's still this push that that's not at the root cause of any of this.

And all the removal, there needs to be a replacement. We have to replace it. I know it's not like a broken record, but we have to replace things with real food.

And the reason is is because I mean, you plants are alive, they're breathing, they're growing in the soil, they're pulling in nourishment, vitamins, minerals from the soil. Again, soil has to be, you know, good.

And so what happens during this growth process? I mean, plants have a DNA, they haven't immune system. That's how they stay alive.

So I love to add, like when we're taking out things, we've got to replace it with some good things. And I'll tell you in a second, personally, what I did, because we, we had two on the spectrum and I say had, I know people say you can't recover autism, but our boys have.

But here's the gist of it. So when you're taking removing, you've got to have this replacement and you've got to get these plants, if you will, these herbs, if you will, into them.

Because that in return supports the immune system. So you hear this craze about phytonutrients, phytochemistry. Well, your body can break those plants down and it is gleaning from that plant's immune effect.

Does that make sense? And that's why doctors don't teach you that. They don't tell you that.

That it's a fascinating study. It really is just just about the plants DNA itself and the plants ability to modulate your own immune system. We're not talking boosting. We're talking modulation because of that phytochemistry and, and it's amazing. But I'm getting back to, like, how do we get these things into our kids?

I called it a pot liquor and let me let me explain myself. So when you're cooking vegetables, let's say you're steaming it or you're cooking them, where's the nourishment?

It's in the pots, like the cooking process, you know, that in itself can strip some of the nutrients and the nourishment. So I would take the broth and I would save it.

And I would make my kids gluten free pancakes and I would put some of the broth and the pancakes and they love that sweet salty taste.

They were inadvertently getting their greens that way. So there's just things that we can do, like, to really think out of the box. And so that was just, I know that was on a whim, but I had to share it.

But there's, there's ways to be tricky to kind of sneak it in because I think this idea that it is impossible to get your kids to eat healthy. That just has to be put away because, for instance, my two children with my first kid, I did baby lead weaning, he ate all whole foods. There was no sugar.

Yeah, I think for his first birthday, I did strawberries and homemade whipped cream, you know, like I was just on it. And he was fine. And he would eat anything that you put in front of him. He had that taste and still to this day, seven years old.

Last night, we had salmon, quinoa, and Brussels sprouts. And he ate all three with no complaints. Now fast forward, I had my second child. And at this point, it was just like chaos, right. Life was chaos. I was figuring out how to balance two children.

So I was a lot quicker to give, give him like the pre-made cookies that you buy in the store and like pre-made this and pre-made that just because it was quick, it was easy. And, and that's, I thought I was still being healthy, but I was exposing him to taste in his mouth too early, right. Like he got the taste for sweet stuff too early with my first child, I did savory for most of the first like four years of his life.

Before he really, the only sweet he had was like fruit. And so with my second child, that was different. So if you look at them today, I can get my older child to try anything savory with my younger child.

He wants to know what the sugar content is. And if it's not high enough, he doesn't want to eat it. You know, it's just, it's night and day. And I know all kids are different.

But it really is a lot about exposure. So it's definitely easier, I think, to start early on, but you can't give up if you're starting later, right. Because that's right.

That's right. You do better. So it's just a little more challenging.

And I was sort of the opposite with our first born, I wasn't quite as careful. And then our second born, when he got his autism diagnosis, I mean, I was like, a dog with a bone like this was happening.

We were doing the detox. We changed everything in the house. You know, we got the toxins out of the fridge like we, it was like do or die.

And, you know, getting back to the way that you and I grew up, you know, the fat free this and the sugar free that and like our artificial diet coke, I mean, like I was the dog queen and hospital, like it had to be diets.

And I literally had to break that generational impression. And I say that now, and I can say that now because now my oldest, he has children.

And he, he caught on to it. As we changed things in our home. And at this point, I mean, he was already like five or six.

And so he was, you know, kind of older. He had already had the pop tart. He had already had, you know, all the, and so that he was willing to do it for brother. God love him.

But now his children, when they come over, if I'm in a salad, they want the salad. Like I'm talking two years old. In fact, yeah, like they want the good stuff, but I'm so proud of him because they, like they, I feel like they, they broke that generational curse, if you will.

Oh, we've got a box food, but like in his wife is so precious, like she's so diligent to make sure the kids have the good things and nine times at a time, their kids will turn down the bad things. And it's not because they've made them.

It's just like it's just clicked more has been called than taught.

Yeah. Yeah. And I think as you switch over because that's the overwhelming part. I think for people is like, I'm going to have to completely change the way that I eat.

And I don't think it has to be so dramatic, right? Like we can find. And if you just, you have to have potato chips, right? Like you just love potato chips.

Yeah.

And you're going to have them look at the ingredient list, right? Like I find, yeah, like, what is that brand at Costco?

Yes. Yeah. I have a lot of potato oil, salt and potatoes. It's got three ingredients. And they actually have another one now that's made with beef tallow instead of the avocado oil.

So you get kind of a different flavor. But like if you're going to, when we go on vacation, we always have chips. Like that's just an easy snack to take to the pool or whatever.

I pick that overlays. And if you look at the back and you look reading that ingredient list is so important.

And if you don't recognize the food or the items listed on the ingredient list is probably not something that you should be putting in your body.

And feel free to put my Instagram link. Yeah.

And then you know, and you know, getting back to our, our situation with our kids like like we like we were all in like we felt like we had to be all in and we changed a lot.

Because there is like the spectrum timeline that's very important. But just in general, I don't want people to panic and be like, oh, we've got to go spend $1,000 at the store and you know, learn all of our food that's in our pantry.

That's not what we're saying.

And there's some healthy swaps that we can introduce you to you.

And really, honestly, let's talk about reading the ingredient label because we discussed that before the show people don't really know how to read the ingredient and why they are in the order they are in.

But I think like I had told you when we were chatting before the show, I think we went from being intrigued by marketing, you know, you bought things based on what the box look like or the bag.

I mean, I was guilty of it myself.

And they do cater to that. So just to kind of make people aware, you know, when you look for health foods, there's a different kind of look to their packaging to the wording and that kind of thing marketing has caught on to that.

So I just take, I just saw Doritos the other day, the whole bag looks different and it caught my eye. I looked at it and I'm like, oh, what's this? And it's like free of artificial dies and all the stuff, which is a great, great step.

Like I applaud that. But if you look at the ingredient list, it is still not great. It's not good at all, you know, it's still not something that I would purchase.

Regular Doritos like the MSG, the modest, so you know, I mean, that is a neurotoxin.

It is literally classified a neurotoxin like why it causes inflammation bad too.

Yeah.

Yes.

A lot of people have sensitivity to that that they don't know, but but you will find sensitivity to MSG and you know, a lot of these things, they're causing inflammation in the body.

So when you look at the back of the box, now I think during the 90s, probably we were conditioned to look at the calories and the fat content.

And I always tell my clients, I'm like, I don't want you to look at any of that. Don't look at any of it. If we're going to look at something, maybe look at the total cards or the added sugar, you know.

But most importantly, I want you to look at that ingredient list because minimal is best. If if you have this long list, you have no idea what the words are, it's not something that you need to put in your body.

And the healthier foods don't have an ingredient list, right?

Right.

You buy a bell pepper. There's no ingredient list. It's just a bell pepper and we know that.

So those are obviously the foods, but I like to live in reality. And I know people are going to buy pre-packaged foods, you know, like it's going to happen.

So I'd rather you make better choices. I mean, we have to, it's just the day and the time we live in, like it's not a perfect setting.

Like we are busy. I'm an medical mom. I'm a homeschool mom. I'm, you know, when we do advocacy, we work for a resident, we have clients.

And so sometimes we, we do grab the packaged food, but I try to get the one that has the least ingredients.

And you know, if you've got a bad ingredient in the first five ingredients, that's the majority of what you're intaking.

So, so pay attention to the first, you know, three to five ingredients. I mean, if sugar is the first ingredient, the majority of that package is sugar.

Yeah. And I think, you know, it's, it's not just about, oh, it's not healthy for you.

These things are leading to disease. And I, I think we've been gentle about this a lot.

I know as a nurse, like we're always encouraging and gentle, but we want to provide education.

But I've kind of gotten to the point where I'm like, we have to really be up front.

And these foods are causing disease. You can't have them.

Like some of this stuff, you just really have to cut out of your diet. And, you know, we're talking about the gut.

So you get gut disruption, which can lead to a whole, a whole slew of problems, leaky gut and everything.

But then you have insulin resistance. And this is just, this is so detrimental to people's health.

We're getting prediabetes. More children today have diabetes than we've ever seen.

Most, a lot of children are obese and prediabetic before age 13, which is just mind blowing.

And then, you know, the insulin resistance leads to diabetes.

It can also lead to cardiovascular disease. You know, if someone is struggling with high blood pressure and, you know, plaque build up in the arteries, I focus on insulin resistance and cleaning up the diet.

I don't focus on if you're eating eggs because eggs have cholesterol.

We're talking about like this sugar is wrecking havoc on your body.

And, and then you have women in perimenopause, you know, where you're even more at risk for insulin, since, or insulin resistance and all these problems.

So it's, it's so important, the least ingredients possible.

Sugar alters the immune system for one sliding scale for three to six hours.

Yeah, I think. Yeah.

I'm so like it's literally all drain your immune system. And so no wonder people are constantly sick.

And that's why you think, um, we think flu season, a lot of us say it's like junk food season, right?

Or sugar season, because you're, you're eating all that and we have Easter coming up.

Yep. And I guarantee you there'll be a spike in flu and summer colds because everyone's going to be eating their Easter eggs and, you know, and all of that.

It's all things of moderation, but it has to be in moderation.

And if you're going to have some sugar, okay, but make sure that you're having fiber somewhere along the day too.

He, as Americans, do not get enough fiber.

Like I, to my clients, I recommend at least 30 grams a day.

And I know that sounds insane.

But we, we just aren't getting in a fiber.

Um, and then that gets us back to the guts, you know, people, this is, this is like terrible to discuss on air.

But I mean, you've got people going to the hospital because they're impacted.

Yes.

They, they have no microbiome left like they, yeah.

And where is it going?

If they have leaky gut, I hate to be so blunt, but it's going back in their bloodstream.

Yeah.

I had the privilege, um, about 15 years ago to read a study that was published by Great Plains Laboratory and they were like the first.

They pioneered like the first quote of goat autism panel, like the autism labs.

I read one of their studies and they checked the stalls of an autistic child that had been impacted and was just on junk food compared the chemistry, the chemical reaction.

And it was giving off the same chemical reaction to someone that had been on LSD.

Mind blowing study.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's so important.

It is.

And what they're doing to our food and, you know, these ultra processed foods are created for addiction.

They have food scientists.

Yes.

And this isn't just a talking point.

They have food scientists that create these foods so you want more and you don't get full.

If you ever noticed, you could sit and munch on a bag of Doritos for a really long time.

But, you know, you can never eat just one.

That was the right.

What was that in the 90s?

You can never.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And, um, if somebody gave you a plate of like green beans, steak and some sweet potatoes, I guarantee you couldn't just sit there and snack on that food for an hour.

Right?

Like you get full.

Full.

Yes.

It has a dense nutrition.

Yes.

Yeah.

So I think that's like that's a big thing that what people don't realize too when we going back to the first segment when we were talking about cost too.

Because if you buy all this junk food, you eat it faster.

You go through it faster.

And so you're having to buy more of it where if you buy nutrient dense food, it's going to last longer.

You don't eat as much of it and, um, and it's going to provide you nourishment.

You don't need to snack all day.

I know kids.

I mean, gosh, I feel like my kids are just like little grazers.

They eat all day long.

Yeah.

I mean, yeah, that's that's common for kids.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But ideally, you should be eating your meals and you really shouldn't be snacking a lot in between.

You should feel satisfied where you're not needing to snack.

And if you do need to snack, then you find, you know, like Greek yogurt with some fruit and granola and nuts and seeds and something that's going to provide you with nourishment, prevent these sugar spikes.

Um, and I have found over the years as we have changed the way we eat.

Our bodies no longer want the fast food.

We no longer want the packaged foods.

When I eat it, I, I feel so bad.

Yeah.

I'm just, I spaced out, zoned out.

If it knocks me out, I have to go take a nap.

And I can't be what I need to be for my family.

And, you know, years ago, we did like an elimination diet.

And, and then we went on and did allergen testing and intolerant testing.

And I was shocked at the amount of allergens that I had.

But the more I have supported my gut over the years with the good thing, some of the allergens have reversed.

Yeah.

So I'm some of the intolerances have to.

And I'm not saying like go out and give your kid a peanut and see if you still allergic.

I'm not.

But I'm just saying for me personally, like the gut support has.

Like, I mean it, it has come in and saved a few things in our whole.

We could probably talk about supplements for an entire segment.

So we will do so sneak preview, guys.

We will do a part two on the nurses report.

But thank you so much for joining us today.

And God bless you all.

Thank you.

Thank you.