Hi ,

First ...

One of my good friends and clinical nutritionist, Sabrina Sarabella, recently released her FREE Women's Guide to Empowered Health, and I want you to grab your copy here, because she's genius and the info is that freaking awesome and useful.

Second ...

I want to tell you a quick story about how I became interested in nutrition and finally "got" the big picture:

One of the very first conversations I had with Jade back in 2005 when we first met included the normal stuff: "What do you do for a living? Oh, what's a naturopathic doctor? Huh. You mean there are other ways to feel better besides going to your doctor and getting a prescription? Food as medicine, huh? Interesting ..."

"Yeah Jill, a lot of people don't realize that what they eat affects how they feel."

Looking back on this conversation now, it's such a no-duh comment, but at the time, this simple statement was a lightbulb moment for me. 

At 24, eating bagels and candy and Diet Pepsi and chugging Bud Lights was pretty much my daily/weekly routine. And the idea that any of that would have influenced how I felt on the inside was just unbelievable. The digestive upset I had, or the bloat or the puffiness or the skin issues or the headaches or the sleep distress could not possibly be because of my diet, right? 

It sounds crazy now (like, of course!), but back then, it was the first taste of control I felt over my body and my health. It was liberating. The idea that I can change how I eat and as a result, change how I feel. WOW.

And this insight, paired with my first competition prep, began my love of nutrition. Previously had just loved exercise and did hours a day precisely so I could eat anything I wanted. Which, included a lot of junk that -- while it tasted yummy -- was not serving me on the inside. 

An empowered mindset when it came to my body and health was a game-changer. Where are you with this?

On long-latency conditions:

One last thing I want to remind all us is that not only does what we eat affect us acutely, for example, when we overeat dairy at a meal and get that stomachache 30 minutes later. But what we eat today affects how our biochemistry will look over time.

In other words, vitamin and mineral deficiencies don't happen overnight, and neither do the symptoms associated with the conditions. You don't quit eating red meat and have issues with B vitamin status or extreme lethargy in a matter of days. Similarly, hormonal changes don't happen immediately either. You don't develop a hypothyroid condition over a week. 

Instead, many symptoms of nutritional deficiencies, malnutrition or lifestyle choices don't show up months and years down the road.

An example is estrogen dominance. This is only one of many female hormonal issues that Sabrina dissects in her free guide, but it's also something that we are dealing with more and more, as a result of an increase in environment estrogens, foods we choose to eat or ways in which we choose to move. 

Understanding your body, as a consumer, has never been more important. And by extension, taking your health into your own hands. No one can do it for you. 

Grab Sabrina's guide and start learning the ins and outs of YOUR body, your hormones, how to speak to your doctor about getting the right tests and what you can do about it all on your end!

Wishing you an empowered weekend :)

Ox, Jill