All Clear - A Firefighter Health & Wellness Podcast

That Gut Feeling With Guest Sandy Wesson

December 22, 2023 Travis McGaha / Eric Stephenson Season 1 Episode 22
That Gut Feeling With Guest Sandy Wesson
All Clear - A Firefighter Health & Wellness Podcast
More Info
All Clear - A Firefighter Health & Wellness Podcast
That Gut Feeling With Guest Sandy Wesson
Dec 22, 2023 Season 1 Episode 22
Travis McGaha / Eric Stephenson

Are you feeling exhausted, stressed, and overwhelmed as a first responder? If so, this episode of All Clear could be your lifeline. We bring on board Sandy Wesson, a skillful functional nutritional therapist with a rich background as an ICU nurse, to share her wisdom on how we can nourish our bodies despite the demanding schedules. Expect to learn new insights about the foods we eat, the significance of hydration, and the role electrolytes play in our bodies. And if you've ever wondered about the impact of gluten and dairy on your gut health, this episode is for you.

Is your brain health tied to your gut health? Explore this profound connection with us as we dive into the aftermath of head injuries. We reveal how something as common as a concussion could spark a negative feedback loop between your brain and gut, resulting in inflammation and shock. Discover how proper digestion could be your secret weapon against the harmful effects of acid reducers, and unravel the mystery behind the term 'leaky gut'. Our discussion also spotlights the vagus nerve and the microbiome - two underrated but vital players in our overall brain health.

Food is fuel, and we want to help you choose the best fuel for your body. Join us as we delve into the world of nutrition and supplementation. Come away with practical strategies for mindful eating and learn about the fundamental role your gallbladder plays in digestion. We'll also share important reminders about the power of B vitamins, vitamin D, and other supplements in supporting our mitochondria. Whether you're a seasoned first responder or new to the field, this episode is designed to equip you with the knowledge to achieve and maintain optimal health. Let's get started!

About Sandy Wesson:

My name is Sandy Wesson. I have been a Registered Nurse for 42 years. During those years, I worked in the Intensive Care Unit, as well as Hospice and Palliative Care, and other aspects of healthcare.

10 years ago, I left clinical nursing to move into the realm of Functional Wellness - becoming certified as a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and as a Certified Functional Bloodwork Specialist. My goal is to put the power of health back in the hands of my clients, rather than being dependent on doctors. I read bloodwork from a Functional Perspective – It gives me so much information about what the body needs. Together we look at the effects of thoughts, traumas, and toxins on the body, and what to do about it. 

Additionally, I have been an energy healer for more than 20 years. I utilize my gifts of empathy, clairaudience, and clairsentience to tune into my clients’ vibrations. As an empath, I am finding that people have a greater need for energy healing to assist in opening their own power to heal. 


Links: 


www.brainworksforlife.com

brainworksforlife@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/BrainWorksForLife

I appreciate you taking out time to listen.  We can only do this with your support.  Please subscribe, leave us a like and good review.  Also if you are able a small donation will go a long way on keeping quality content and bad dad jokes coming to you.  Visit allclearpodcast.com to learn more.

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Use the code All Clear to get 10% off your first order.

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Thanks for listening to All Clear!

You can contact us with questions, suggestions or just to say hi at our website
allclearpodcast.com


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Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Are you feeling exhausted, stressed, and overwhelmed as a first responder? If so, this episode of All Clear could be your lifeline. We bring on board Sandy Wesson, a skillful functional nutritional therapist with a rich background as an ICU nurse, to share her wisdom on how we can nourish our bodies despite the demanding schedules. Expect to learn new insights about the foods we eat, the significance of hydration, and the role electrolytes play in our bodies. And if you've ever wondered about the impact of gluten and dairy on your gut health, this episode is for you.

Is your brain health tied to your gut health? Explore this profound connection with us as we dive into the aftermath of head injuries. We reveal how something as common as a concussion could spark a negative feedback loop between your brain and gut, resulting in inflammation and shock. Discover how proper digestion could be your secret weapon against the harmful effects of acid reducers, and unravel the mystery behind the term 'leaky gut'. Our discussion also spotlights the vagus nerve and the microbiome - two underrated but vital players in our overall brain health.

Food is fuel, and we want to help you choose the best fuel for your body. Join us as we delve into the world of nutrition and supplementation. Come away with practical strategies for mindful eating and learn about the fundamental role your gallbladder plays in digestion. We'll also share important reminders about the power of B vitamins, vitamin D, and other supplements in supporting our mitochondria. Whether you're a seasoned first responder or new to the field, this episode is designed to equip you with the knowledge to achieve and maintain optimal health. Let's get started!

About Sandy Wesson:

My name is Sandy Wesson. I have been a Registered Nurse for 42 years. During those years, I worked in the Intensive Care Unit, as well as Hospice and Palliative Care, and other aspects of healthcare.

10 years ago, I left clinical nursing to move into the realm of Functional Wellness - becoming certified as a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and as a Certified Functional Bloodwork Specialist. My goal is to put the power of health back in the hands of my clients, rather than being dependent on doctors. I read bloodwork from a Functional Perspective – It gives me so much information about what the body needs. Together we look at the effects of thoughts, traumas, and toxins on the body, and what to do about it. 

Additionally, I have been an energy healer for more than 20 years. I utilize my gifts of empathy, clairaudience, and clairsentience to tune into my clients’ vibrations. As an empath, I am finding that people have a greater need for energy healing to assist in opening their own power to heal. 


Links: 


www.brainworksforlife.com

brainworksforlife@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/BrainWorksForLife

I appreciate you taking out time to listen.  We can only do this with your support.  Please subscribe, leave us a like and good review.  Also if you are able a small donation will go a long way on keeping quality content and bad dad jokes coming to you.  Visit allclearpodcast.com to learn more.

Your one stop shop for graphic design, screen printing, embroidery and more.  Proud sponsor of the All Clear Podcast.

Use the code All Clear to get 10% off your first order.

studioprintshop.com

Support the Show.

Thanks for listening to All Clear!

You can contact us with questions, suggestions or just to say hi at our website
allclearpodcast.com


Also Visit Our Sponsors - Studio Print Shop at
studioprintshop.com

Speaker 1:

This week on All Clear that gut feeling with guest Sandy Wesson of BrainWorks for Life. I'm Travis, there's Eric, how you doing my friend Good how are you I?

Speaker 1:

am doing great. I am doing great Good news. We have a guest with us today. We have Miss Sandy Wesson from BrainWorks she is a specialist in dietary and whole health and Eric. One of the things we face a lot of times is eating well, getting enough rest, doing all those things. I thought Sandy would be a good guest for us today to fill us in on that. I'm going to let Sandy take it from here. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and tell us what we need to do to be better?

Speaker 3:

Hey, first of all, Travis and Eric, thank you for inviting me to join you on All Clear. I love the work that all of you guys do. I'm a former ICU nurse, so first responders are near and dear to my heart. So, anyway, my background is I'm a registered nurse of 42 years that kind of gives my age away and I in my career I worked ICU for a number of years at least 10, maybe more and at the end of my clinical nursing career I worked hospice and palliative care as well as other areas of health care, but those two in particular.

Speaker 3:

And at one point I was probably I don't know 10 or more years ago I left clinical nursing. I didn't think I was going to, but when I moved to a new community I looked around and my guidance was not it just it wasn't the right fit for me anymore. I moved more towards functional medicine, towards holistic health care, which I did as a nurse, but I was very limited to what I could do. So I went back to school, became a functional nutritional therapist. I am certified in blood work, so I can look at the blood work that you guys already have from your doctors and there's a lot of information in there so I can see what's going on from that perspective.

Speaker 3:

And gosh, just really working with people on nutrition, with supplements, with helping with detoxification because of all the toxins in our bodies. You guys are exposed to a lot as our military, so I work with a lot of detoxification and I do energy healing, so that works more on that emotional side where we're protecting ourselves and we can chat more about that later if there's time. But that's really my background, where I come from. I love the fact that I have my years of clinical nursing and if there's a crisis situation, by God, take me to the ER, put me back together. In terms of our overall health and maintenance, we've got to be responsible for ourselves. We need to educate ourselves the best we can and we need to be in control of our health to the best that we can.

Speaker 1:

That reminds me my mom. She was a ER nurse and later in her career she went into geriatrics. She did palliative care as well. So she did it for about 55 years. So I kind of understand where you're coming from, and she is very much of that same mindset that you have to look at the person as a whole. Sometimes treating symptoms isn't enough. But I know one of the things that we talked about beforehand is the fact that, as first responders, sometimes diet is not our friend. We eat fast, we may not eat at all, we may have to grab a greasy burger or we might have time for a healthy meal. So, with all those variations, what kind of advice can you give us as to how we can maximize our meals, how we can be healthy with doing that and still treating our bodies properly?

Speaker 3:

I went through the same thing when I worked as an ICU nurse. My diet was terrible. Sometimes I'd start to eat and then something happens and called back into the unit. So I understand, and that was a period of my life when my digestion was the worst when I worked as an ICU nurse, and the stress and the time I recommend now when to number one, do the best you can in hydration and I know when you guys are out on a call for hours that's a struggle.

Speaker 3:

Aud tare hydration and is going to dehydration will first be felt in our brains and we'll talk more about that later, about the mitochondria and all of that. But so hydration is key. Electrolytes I don't recommend things like Gatorade and things like that, because what's in them is not the best for us. But you can do things like taking Celtic sea salt the Celtic salt or Himalayan sea salt and putting that in your water, letting that dissolve, because there's a lot of minerals in that water, along with the salt all the things that we need. There are some other good electrolytes out there that you can utilize, and so hydration is key.

Speaker 3:

I know this is gonna be a tough one for you guys because you're eating on the run, but gluten is really hard Our bodies. We don't have the enzymes to break down the gluten of today. A hundred years ago it was different, but the gluten of today is hard. Not only do we not have the right enzymes to break it down, but it is sprayed with glyphosate. Glyphosate is one of those environmental I'm gonna call it a toxin because it causes leaky gut. It is one of those that is now associated with certain cancers, so we have to be really careful with that. And the glyphosate also can affect our ligaments. There's some research out there that shows other effects of the glyphosate. So that's one of the reasons, aside from not being able to break down the gluten very well. But trying to limit that as much as you can is key.

Speaker 3:

And dairy is another one. Sorry, guys, but if a person has a sensitivity to gluten, then dairy the protein in the gluten and the dairy are very close, and so the body can get confused and see dairy as a problem also. That may not be true for everybody, but for many people, and I know that. When I started learning this and had to take this stuff out of my diet, it was hard, but my gut started to heal and I started to feel better and my mental health got better, because when we're eating foods that we're sensitive to, then it causes inflammation in the gut. That causes inflammation in the brain. So, dietarily wise, those are a couple of key things.

Speaker 3:

It might be that you guys need to try to find some healthy, quality protein bars that aren't too high in sugar but I know you need a certain amount of sugar because you're burning off so much when you're out there working. So it might be if you can find some things to take with you when you're eating, when you can get a meal. Of course, salads are healthy. So getting those leafy greens, because we've got a lot of B vitamins in those leafy greens and that's important for the brain. But and I don't know in all parts of the country how easy it is to get microgreens but microgreens you're eating the smaller, the sprouts, and there's more nutrients packed in those than in the full leaf.

Speaker 3:

So that might be a piece also to try to incorporate when you can. They're more expensive, they're harder to find, but there's a lot of key nutrients in that, because I try to do my salads with partial, just full leafy greens and then a handful of microgreens in it also to just beef it up. Some fermented foods like the sauerkraut the you can get. There's one brand that does fermented carrots with ginger in it, so putting that in cause. That's gonna help with probiotics. It's almost like a probiotic to our gut, but that's gonna be really helpful.

Speaker 1:

I've noticed that in the last few years, a lot of people have the. They have the misconception of oh, firefighters eat chili and they eat all these horrible foods. But one of the things I know is the guys I work with and the guys in my department. A lot of them are very conscious of what they eat, how much they eat, and a lot of these guys are keto, paleo, whatever the diet of the week are and a lot of them really watch what they're taking into their body.

Speaker 1:

So a lot of the advice you're giving isn't too far off base, because a lot of our firefighters have that help working with them.

Speaker 3:

You guys know, yeah, you have to have strong bodies to do your jobs. And the healthy fats oh my gosh, that's so important. So the omega-3s avocado, some of the good nuts, the nuts sometimes if you're just eating nuts out of a bag, that can be difficult for some people because there's I wanna call it a nutrient it's almost an anti-nutrient in those nuts that make it hard to digest. So, soaking the nuts overnight and then, like putting some salt in that water, soak them overnight and then you can dry them in the oven, lay them on a pan and just dry them in the oven. Sometimes you can find places where you can buy sprouted nuts, but that's basically what that's doing is, when you're letting them soak overnight, you're taking some of the less desirable effects and leaving the good stuff in the nuts, excellent.

Speaker 1:

So now when we do start eating better whether no, changing whatever it is if our bodies don't agree with it or whatever when we start eating better, I know that our bodies will do better. I've been going through improvement of my diet here in the last couple of weeks and I've seen things happen that are good. But we talk about that link between our digestion and our emotional health, our mental health and things like that. Can you dig a little bit deeper into what that connection is between the digestive system and the brain?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely so. The gut and the brain are connected by the vagus nerve, which is the longest nerve in the body. It starts in the brain back and it goes all the way down. It attaches to the heart, it attaches to lungs, but it ends in the digestive tract. It ends in the intestines and this is important because the digestive tract has its own nervous system. In our intestines it's called the enteric nervous system, but it's like 100 million nerve cells in the digestive tract. So if you think about that communication between the brain and the digestive tract.

Speaker 3:

I didn't wanna get off on concussions right away, but it's one of the reasons that when someone has a concussion, they have the shock that goes from their brain all the way down to the digestive tract. You see some people that have nausea or maybe they vomit after a head injury. So there's a shock that goes from the brain to the gut. Now the gut becomes inflamed and the gut now has that shock. And so now, even if someone had perfect digestion after a concussion, now their gut is inflamed. So now we've gotta heal their gut, because within three days of a concussion they'll have gut issues, and then that keeps the brain inflamed. How can the brain heal after a head injury when we've got inflammation in the brain. Inflammation in the gut keeps the brain inflamed, the brain keeps the gut inflamed and we've got this negative loop. In those circumstances that's really important to pay attention to gut healing. Usually the most effective way to do that is with some supplements. That helps seal up the leaky gut.

Speaker 3:

So anyway, I kinda digress but let's go back. So the vagus nerve is a big piece of it. But now scientists also understand that our microbiome, our good bacteria, also have a huge impact in that communication between the gut and the brain also. So our microbiome, so we wanna have the good, healthy gut, good, healthy bacteria, because 70% of serotonin is made in the gut. We have to have enough good gut bacteria. So serotonin is a neurotransmitter that goes to the brain. It's our feel good neurotransmitter. So if we don't have enough serotonin, then there can be more anxiety, there can be depression, there can be all these other pieces based on that and anxiety and depression. If you have somebody that has a head injury, it's extremely common to have anxiety and depression. Probably 95% of people with head injury end up and again some of that comes back to the gut. So there's this, all these different pieces.

Speaker 3:

So good digestion. Let's just let me quickly briefly talk about what good digestion is. And this comes back to where you guys saying sometimes you're barely getting a meal or you're trying to eat and now you're called away. Digestion really starts in the brain when we start thinking about food, smelling food, then our brain starts creating some of the things that we need. But our chewing is so key to having proper digestion Because when we start eating, when we start chewing, amylase is an enzyme that's only made in our salivary glands, it's only in our chewing and that breaks down carbohydrates.

Speaker 3:

So if we have to, if we're chewing really fast just out of habit like I was ninth to 10 kids you better eat faster. There's no food. So if we are eating quickly and we're not slowing down and really they say 30 chews per bite that's not very easy to do when you guys know you can get called out anytime. But just be cognizant to try to slow down and be in what they call the parasympathetic state that rest or digest, rather than in that high anxiety. I got a hurry and eat because I've got the next task to do. So chewing is number one.

Speaker 3:

If we don't chew our food adequately. When we swallow and that food goes to our stomach, it's already behind the game. Now there's already food that's not digested properly and it goes on to the next step of improper digestion because we have larger proteins, we have larger molecules than should be there. So when it gets to the stomach and it's not that first part of being broken down hasn't occurred, then the food sits there and can ferment and putrify. We can only imagine what that does. So then we start having the bubbling from that, so we feel bloated, but we start having the bubbling of the esophagus, that is, gastric reflux. I can tell you, having talked with my doctor friends about this because this was part of my training, not as a nurse, not in medical, but as a nutritional therapist understanding that this occurs from lack of hydrochloric acid. Our doctors are told that, oh, it's too much acid. So the doctors put people on PPIs to decrease the amount of stomach acid, when in truth we need more stomach acid to properly break down.

Speaker 1:

I haven't thought about that, about how taking acid reducers and tums and things like that could actually be directly affecting our digestion negatively. Normally, what we think of that is the remedy.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and even now they're starting to see that. Okay, the PPIs. They say if you're on those, it should be for no more than two weeks and people end up on them for years. And so now I've had clients tell me, new clients come in saying I need help with this because now they're starting to crack down on this and I don't know how to get off it. Every time I try to wean I'm struggling.

Speaker 3:

So it is a big issue because it then creates all sorts of other problems by not having enough hydrochloric acid and there's a whole bunch of factors that come into how our body creates enough hydrochloric acid. If we are low in zinc, we can't create enough hydrochloric acid. So again, it's all these other nutritional pieces that come to play. So, yeah, chewing, we need enough enzymes, we need enough hydrochloric acid. Sometimes we may need to supplement that while our body's trying to heal.

Speaker 3:

So we talked about gastric reflux, leaky gut Are you guys familiar with the term leaky gut? Have you heard it? Yeah, yeah, okay. So leaky gut if some of the audience isn't familiar with what that is is, I mentioned that if our food isn't broken down properly by the time it gets to the small intestine, and in the small intestine is where we should be. Our food by then should be totally liquid. And there are. In the gut, in our small intestine there's these little villi and then the villi have these little microscopic holes in the tips. The liquefied food now comes around and surrounds those villi and the nutrients are absorbed through those microscopic holes.

Speaker 3:

If we didn't digest our food well enough, then those there could be proteins, other molecules that are too large to go through the little holes, because it's not proper digestion. It's not the way our body's built. But now they're trying to figure out. I got to go somewhere. I can't get there where I'm supposed to. So it starts pushing. Those proteins, those large molecules start pushing through the cell wall. Our cell wall is one to two cells thick. Are the walls of our intestines, the walls of our gut? That's really thin. And so when these large proteins start pushing and pushing through, now we've got large proteins and other toxins going into the bloodstream. That's called leaky gut and a large proportion of the population has leaky gut.

Speaker 3:

So again now the next problem. Because with leaky gut and these toxins and proteins going into the bloodstream, our immune system says Whoa, what's going on? You're not supposed to be here, so they see it as a foreign invader. So now our immune system kicks in, starts attacking these proteins, toxins that shouldn't be there. After a while, when that continues for long periods of time, then our immune system can become confused and start attacking our own cells. That's called autoimmune.

Speaker 3:

Autoimmune can be in the form of rheumatoid arthritis, it can be irritable bowel disease, so all sorts of things. And again then this our guts inflamed. We don't have good bacteria. That allows the bad bacteria to overgrow, so there can be some infections in the intestines. So again, it's just lots of pieces, which is why proper digestion is so critical, it's so key. It is our entire health, it is our physical health, it is our mental health. Spending the time really focusing on digestion, learning everything you can about it, when you can slow down and chew properly. If you need to supplement with some enzymes, do it and work on healing the body.

Speaker 1:

This. I'm going to ask a question to Eric right now because I think this is going to fall into his realm. And, Sandy, I know you have some insight on this too. But, Eric, when you've worked with folks that have had emotional stresses, issues, anxiety have they frequently mentioned that they've had digestive issues to go with it, whether it be we talk about the reflux, or maybe it's irritable bowel or anything like that. Have they expressed that when you've been working with them in the past?

Speaker 2:

I would say, not necessarily directed towards that, but they don't understand what is happening, when I always ask whether or not they're eating. If somebody is depressed or somebody's got PTSD symptoms, whatever else, hey, are you eating? And no, I can't hold anything down. I get nauseous. Blah, blah, blah. And it's what came first chicken or the egg. One, what are you trying to feed your body? And two, just the overwhelming emotion and sometimes make people where they get an upset belly or they feel like they can't eat because it makes them feel like they want to throw up, but always encouraging them. You don't have to eat an entire meal, but eat something. Try to eat something healthy if you can. The body is going to pay attention to I mention it all the time. The mind pays attention to, focuses on what we pay attention to, and the body is going to do the same thing, so if we constantly feed it junk, there's no way that we're going to feel well.

Speaker 2:

There's no way that eating candy I am a chocoholic and we know the ill side effects of that overload with the sugar stuff like that and you feel really good and then boom, you get that crash. When you are mentioning the digestion process and the chewing, you need to eat intentionally and not just out of habit, that okay, I have to eat, and so you shovel something in real quick and boom, I ate today. No, eat intentionally. And that chewing also one thing that wasn't mentioned. With the chewing process, that's also going to help you not overeat.

Speaker 2:

If you are one of those emotional eaters, but if you're paying attention to the way you eat and chewing your food properly not just gulp, but intentionally chewing that food there is that time delay from the brain to the belly and you're going to overeat. You're going to overeat. You're going to overeat because you're eating so quickly and then 45 minutes later you're going to feel like a stuffed hog and oh my gosh, I overdid it. If you slow that process down and you intentionally chew your food, you're not going to eat nearly as much. You're going to eat enough to fuel the body, but you're going to feel well in the process.

Speaker 3:

If you've got someone that is even they are trying to eat. Well, they're trying to slow down, they're chewing and pay more attention and they're still having a lot of issues, say with bloating, some nausea. The gallbladder yeah, we create. The bile is created in the liver but it's stored in the gallbladder.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 3:

In the many years they used to tell us to eat no fat or low fat. Then the bile thickens and we can start having gallstones and other things. So it's important to get the healthy fats for the gallbladder so that when we do eat fats there is a signal to the gallbladder to squeeze and push the bile out. The bile helps break down the fats For many people.

Speaker 3:

I see a lot of gallbladder issues that we have to heal and there are things we can do, like eating beats is really helpful for the gallbladder, but there's other supplements that you can get that have a beat base or beat, as well as some other things Like if someone has had their gallbladder removed, they should be on something that has like ox bile in it to help break that down. So there's some other key things to pay attention to that are a huge part of our digestion and the liver and gallbladder have a huge role.

Speaker 1:

So, when we start talking about supplementing and adding to our diets, what are, if you had to pick, say, the top five, top six things that we need to be making sure we're having in our diet, what would you say? Those are?

Speaker 3:

If I'm going to supplement, the one of the things that I try to pay attention to is my mitochondria. Our energy is made in the cells and the mitochondria within the cells make the energy, stir our energy. There are little energy bunnies, and so we need to support the cell, we need to support the mitochondria. Every cell in our body, except for the red bloods, have a thousand mitochondria per cell. Our liver and our heart have 5,000 mitochondria per cell. Our brains have approximately 10,000 mitochondria per cell. So in order to have good function body-wise is supporting the mitochondria. I've got a couple of supplements that I use to help support the mitochondria, because when our bodies under a lot of stress or we're getting sick, the mitochondria have two jobs. One of them is with the immune system, saying hey, release the killer cells, go, take care of things, and the other one is creating energy. So if we start getting sick and our body, our mitochondria are addressing the immune system, they're less able to make energy, and when people get sick they're so fatigued. That's why.

Speaker 3:

So I pay attention to my mitochondria, certainly my digestion. So I've healed my gut pretty well, but then I had a concussion a few years ago, so then it was back on getting back to healing the gut again. So if I'm eating a meal with a lot of protein, I will go ahead and take some supplements that have hydrochloric acid and enzymes in them. And then B vitamins key, key, key for mental health and overall cellular function, or B vitamins. Some of us have a genetic sniff, they call it, or genetic disposition, that we have a hard time methylating. So we have a hard time breaking down some of the B vitamins. So some people need to take methylated Bs methylated B12, methylated. So there are certain of the Bs but the B vitamins are really important and when someone has a very stressful job, extra Bs will we burn through our B vitamins. So those are ones that I try to eat, the foods, but I do also supplement.

Speaker 1:

Good to know. So B vitamins I know that's something that I try to stay on top of, and I know a lot of our guys do that, so it's good to know that there are things that we can supplement just by eating the right foods. So that is awesome.

Speaker 3:

Also vitamin D. Vitamin D is super critical and I know that when I was just following, before I started doing functional blood work, I'm really looking at it from a functional perspective. The medical system says, oh, a vitamin D level of 30 is adequate, that might keep you from major diseases, but it's really not enough for bone health. For, as an example, being an old, a former ICU nurse yeah, old too, an old ICU nurse I stayed in touch. I was in a group when COVID hit and you guys were all on the front line and we were all trying to figure this out. But I stayed in touch with old, with former like people ICU nurses that are currently practicing and ICU doctors and they figured out pretty early on that the people that ended up in ICU, the ones that ended up on a ventilator and the ones who died, more often than not were low vitamin D levels and low zinc.

Speaker 2:

That was very evident.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it wasn't given to the public. It wasn't information that was given to the public to say, hey, you guys.

Speaker 2:

If you do anything in our field of work, first responders working in the hospital style, setting those trends were easy to follow Anytime the news showed pictures, it was usually middle aged or older, out of shape, unhealthy looking people to begin with. Their body had no real mechanism to fight this off and eating healthy will win the fact that yes, absolutely yes and yeah, that that was very evident. So all the doom and gloom that came along with it was like hey, there's ways that you can protect yourself just by doing simple things.

Speaker 3:

But I do want to say that if you are supplementing with vitamin D, vitamin D when we take it, when we consume it, it's not in the active form that our body can use it. There are co factors to help it convert to the form that we can use. One of those is K2, but magnesium there's. There are several other things that will help that. So, like I, carry one that's got the majority of the co factors in it, because most people don't know that, don't know that they have to take all these other pieces for their body to utilize the vitamin D. So D and zinc are important and I just got to say for men burned through zinc faster than women. Women burn through magnesium. So for women, high stress, extra magnesium got to, just got to have.

Speaker 3:

Magnesium is so critical to so many functions in our body. So magnesium is also one that I would probably supplement. I do personally, in spite of trying to eat enough and consume enough, and sometimes, if you can find good quality vitamins, I fortunately have access to the professional ones. So I I look for some that sometimes are in combination. So I'm not taking quite so many pills, which is why I like the D that I carry, but I still take extra magnesium. And so for men zinc. Everybody needs zinc, but for men zinc.

Speaker 1:

I've heard that In fact, my doctors put me on zinc supplements specifically to help out with stuff like that. It is good to know that it's not a it's not a loss scenario all the time or a lost cause whenever we try to eat better and do things like that. And, sandy, I really appreciate you taking time to fill us in on all this. Would you be willing to come back in the future maybe to talk some more about this stuff?

Speaker 3:

I would love to. I would love to Because I, like I say, the work you guys do is near and dear to my heart. I love educating anybody and everybody about this, but particularly my colleagues people, because when I worked as an ICU nurse, I didn't. This information wasn't out there within the medical within my nurses. Even so, it's just anything that we can do to keep ourselves healthier, because we have a role to help everybody else.

Speaker 1:

So I agree.

Speaker 3:

I would be happy to and for you guys. I don't know if I mentioned, I know we talked ahead of time but knowing that I couldn't get through everything they created, a download, so that if in the show notes there's a link for a download that at least talks about some of the nutrients, it talks about the key nutrients for the body and brain it has.

Speaker 1:

If you're deficient, what some symptoms might be, and it's got food and we'll make that available to our listeners for sure, for sure.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so that's there. And then also, I was asked to write a book. Did I talk about this?

Speaker 1:

Again.

Speaker 3:

I tried to remember what we talked about versus what we were talking about.

Speaker 1:

You told us you had a book you were working on.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it's. I wrote a chapter, it's already written, it's been published, it's a international bestselling book and the title of the book is Healing Beyond the diagnosis. I wrote one chapter. My chapter was healing the body to heal the brain and that is available on Amazon and I had an opportunity in there to go in much more detail about healing the gut brain connection, the effects on our concussions and all of that on what to do. So that's available and if and it's volume one, so healing beyond the diagnosis volume one because there's two volumes, so mine is in volume one.

Speaker 3:

Or you can go to my website, brainworksforlifecom, and we put a link on there because sometimes that's just easier for people rather than trying to search through the books. So if you go to brainworksforlife, to my website, then there's a link there that will take you to Amazon, to the right book. And then also, I hear that many of you guys are already doing all of this, but I did put together a special offer on my website. That is, six key supplements, all professional supplements, to help strengthen. One of them is like gut healing. One of them is mital cordial support. One of them is adrenal support, because when you're under so much prolonged stress, it affects our adrenal glands and that affects everything else. So I tried to put together just key a 30 day supply of six key supplements, and those are on the website. I had my web designer actually create a shop, because it's not something I normally do, so you can go out there and select shop on the menu and then within that it's called healthy heroes.

Speaker 1:

We appreciate you doing that. Sandy, we do have a tradition here on our show and maybe you can help us out. Hey Eric, did you know that I let Travis? Did you know that I tend to only get sick during the week? Do you know why? No, I don't. I have a weekend immune system.

Speaker 2:

Oh, you see what I have to put up with every episode.

Speaker 1:

We have to do that, Sandy. We have to do that Because, thank you so much.

Speaker 3:

Sandy, where can I get?

Speaker 1:

punished. Yeah, you do get punished. I promised you, Sandy. Where can we get a hold of you at or where can I respond to?

Speaker 3:

Brainworks for Life is the website. If you just want to call direct and just chat, it's 541-639-8400. I've got some information out there on Facebook Brainworks for Life Facebook and then also Brainworks for Life Instagram.

Speaker 1:

We'll have all those.

Speaker 3:

I have to say I'm not as great about posting on social media. I know you're supposed to and I'm not good at it, because I'm busy taking care of people and trying to help people. Have you seen her website?

Speaker 1:

We're pretty bad at that time sometimes too, but we will make sure people can get a hold of you and we appreciate your time. Thank you again for listening to All Clear. I'm Travis, thank you. There's Eric Sandy, thank you. Have a good evening. You have been listening to All Clear. All Clear is presented by the North Carolina Firefighter Cancer Alliance and the First Responders Peer Support Network. This program is hosted and produced by Travis McGeach and Eric Stevenson. Visit our website, allclearpodcastcom, where you can contact us and leave feedback. If you like what you hear, please share this podcast with someone. The opinions of guests do not necessarily represent the views of the podcast. This podcast is recorded with e-script and with technology that is provided by Cortec Computers. We'll see you soon and, as always, light your fire within.

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