EP 466: What If Your Body Just Needs Better Ingredients

What makes Zarana Parekh with NutriliciousbyZ a good neighbor?

Bloating that gets brushed off as “normal.” Weight gain that gets blamed on willpower. For many—especially midlife women—those assumptions keep real answers just out of reach. We sit down with Zarana Parekh, founder of NutriliciousbyZ and an integrative, functional medicine dietitian, to shift the focus from symptom-chasing to understanding the root cause of what your body is actually asking for.

Zarana shares the patterns she sees most often: unresolved gut issues, chronic inflammation, blood sugar swings, insulin resistance, and hormone shifts that make traditional diet advice fall flat. She explains why postmenopausal health requires a different strategy—one that supports cortisol, insulin balance, and the nervous system so your body can finally respond to nutrition and movement.

We also bring it back to something simple and powerful. When everything feels overwhelming, Zarana’s framework is this: give your body the right inputs. That means real, unprocessed food, consistent movement that fits your life, and intentional time to slow down and reset. It’s not about doing more—it’s about doing what actually works.

With a philosophy rooted in “food is medicine,” Zarana has helped thousands of individuals take back control of their health through practical, sustainable lifestyle changes. Her approach is holistic, personalized, and built for long-term results—not quick fixes.

If you’ve been struggling with gut health, menopause symptoms, or weight that won’t budge, this conversation will help you see your body differently—and give you a clearer path forward. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more neighbors can find real answers.

To learn more about NutriliciousbyZ go to:
 https://www.nutriliciousbyz.com

 NutriliciousbyZ
📞 +1 (214) 914-3778

Zarana Parekh is an Integrative & Functional Medicine Dietitian and gut health expert based in Dallas, TX. Through NutriliciousbyZ, she helps clients address root causes and build sustainable health using personalized nutrition and lifestyle strategies.

Transcript

Welcome To The Show

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Nivelle.

Meet Zarna And Nutrelicious By Z

SPEAKER_02 0:10

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a neutralicious company? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Zarna Perek, with Nutrelicious by Z. Zarna, it is lovely having you on today. Now we are so excited to learn more about your business. Please start off by telling our listeners just a little bit more about your business and your backstory.

Root Cause Nutrition Approach

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Sure. Thank you so much for having me, Sophia. It's a pleasure. My name is Zarna Parik, and I am an integrative and functional medicine registered dietitian. I work with individuals one-on-one in helping them discover what are the root causes of their chronic health problems rather than just focusing on symptoms management. I really believe that when we look at the whole picture in a health, we can make great progress in their health journey. Some of the areas that I work with individuals on are gut health problems, including digestive conditions and metabolic wellness, which is where we focus on conditions like insulin resistance or inflammation, weight problems, sugar problems, and hormone changes in general. I definitely have uh dealt with a lot of them on my own, and that has been a great uh awakening and understanding both as a practitioner and a patient-focused myself to realize what works and how uh changes can be uh hard on individuals, so customizing them to their readiness level. Uh, and that is what I really uh emphasize with my clients that these are personalized for you.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

Now, Zarna, on your way to becoming a great dietitian, you know what was that most common misconception you came across along the way that you would like to address for our listeners today?

Two Common Health Misconceptions

SPEAKER_00 2:30

Um, so I've been a dietitian for over 25 years, and I've come across a lot of misconceptions that people have, but the two most common ones that I I see people having an issue with is uh the first one is that gut issues are normal. It's okay to feel a little bloated and it's okay to have the constipation and some of those issues, which is not necessarily true. And the other one is that um weight issues or metabolic issues are all about willpower and calories. Uh, I think that is one of my biggest misconceptions that I constantly educate my clients on that. Uh, it's not necessarily just those two things. Uh, very specifically, I would emphasize that you know women uh tend to have a lot of other challenges that can really contribute a big time into their weight struggles. So we know gut issues, inflammation, hormone issues, and big time stress can be a big driver of the weight challenges that you may be tackling and not necessarily that your willpower is super weak to uh keep up with your journey.

SPEAKER_02 3:41

So, Zarna, let's dive in deeper here. Now, we do know that marketing is the heart of every business. So, who are some of these individuals that you're really looking to help? And how are you staying in front of them?

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Um, sure. Um you are very right, you know, as a healthcare business, healthcare professional, but also an entrepreneur, marketing is one of those really key areas that we uh have to focus and uh find the right match. You know, it's it's uh it's not just about us, but also for them to be am I the right fit for them? So some of the individuals that I really feel like that would be my ideal client is um uh any individual, but uh more so a lot of women who have struggled a lot with some of these challenges, you know, who are in their mid mid midlife uh ages where no matter what how much they harder they try, uh things don't just come out the way they want to. Um those are some of the individuals that definitely uh can be my uh ideal client. Um, and then also individuals who have had uh chronic issues. Um, it could be autoimmunity, it could be uh a lot of gut-related issues that uh uh that they just haven't found answers after trying multiple different uh avenues in, that is where I would really encourage them to work with me because we can really work on that root cause analysis and help their entire system uh function the way it should.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

So, Zarna, as a dietitian, what is that one statistic that you've come across when it comes to helping some of these more menopausal women that has really been the most surprising to you?

SPEAKER_00 5:30

So, one of the major things, you know, of course, you know, it's it like I always mentioned, and it's not just about willpower. Of course, the strategies for uh postmenopausal or mature ages are a little bit different rather than just the calorie cutting or uh exercising for hours in gym. Uh, that's probably not the answer. So I always work with uh on uh these uh women that um really focus on uh your stress levels. Um hormone balancing is where uh as you balance your stress hormones into like cortisol and insulin and all of those, you support your uh female hormones also really well. So that's the the biggest strategy that has helped me and my clients um at least navigate through these years, uh, which can be harder on ourselves.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

Wow, have you ever thought about having your own podcast to educate these women?

SPEAKER_00 6:26

I would love to. I mean, that's a great idea. I have I've dabbled on that idea. Um, it it just hasn't come to uh an action yet.

Healing Is Possible With Support

SPEAKER_02 6:36

Now, Zarno, we've gone over some great information today. In your heart, what is that one thing you would like some of your um the listeners that we have today and some of these women to take with them from learning about your business? If you can leave them with one piece of wisdom.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

Absolutely. Um, so one of the main things I would really uh want to tell my listeners is that you know, healing is possible. Um uh in uh food and lifestyle plays a great, great role in our uh health journey. However, there are other factors that also need to be looked at. So sometimes we become really hard on ourselves, and so I really work with a lot with my clients on that, you know, a focus on your uh stress management, your nervous system balancing, because a lot of times that's some uh uh that can really make your efforts in the the nutrition and lifestyle come together really well. So that is something that is very important, and our bodies are very smart and they're very, very uh ready to get that help. What we need to provide is like what I call we have to give the raw ingredients. The body really knows how to put together uh in a right recipe for us.

Three Essentials Food Movement Time

SPEAKER_02 7:56

What are those top three ingredients that our body needs in order to do that?

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Good unprocessed food. That's the first and foremost thing. Uh, very important. The second one is movement, any kind of movement helps. So uh it doesn't have to be necessarily only one type of an exercise or anything. And then the third thing is always taking that time for yourself, like take take a step back and uh give that moment. You know, we we tend to get into you know rushing throughout the day and without realizing that how much harm it's doing to our body.

Where To Find Her And Nominate

SPEAKER_02 8:37

100%. You know, I heard recently how important it is to breathe, you know, make sure that you're breathing properly. Yes, yes. Uh finally, where can our listeners go to learn more about Neutralicious by Z?

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Uh, they can definitely go to my website, which is neutralicious by Z.com. They can also follow me on Facebook or Instagram. I'm uh on there with the name same, my business name, Neutralicious by Z.

SPEAKER_02 9:08

Well, Zarna, I really appreciate you being on the show today. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Thank you so much, Sophia. Thank you for having me. It's it was a wonderful experience for me.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gmpfrisco.com. That's gmpfrisco.com or call 469-221 9345.