Signs Your Body is Screaming for Help: Midlife Red Flags with Jaclyn Downs

What if your chronic symptoms weren’t “just aging” - but your body waving a red flag?

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Functional Genomic Nutrition Consultant, researcher, and author Jaclyn Downs ... and lemme tell ya, she does not hold back when it comes to exposing what’s really behind so many of our modern-day health struggles.

We’re talking mystery symptoms, stubborn fatigue, hormonal chaos, autoimmune flares, even infertility - and how they’re often rooted in one sneaky culprit you have have heard of...

...toxic overload.

Jaclyn breaks down the link between environmental toxins and genetic expression (don’t worry, she makes it easy to understand!) and shares why so many women feel like they’re doing “all the right things” and still aren’t getting better.

If you’ve ever thought, “Why is my body betraying me?” or “Why can’t I heal, even though I’m trying so hard?” - this conversation is going to open your eyes in a big, empowering way.

We jam on:

💥 The real reason detoxing isn’t working for most women (spoiler: it’s not your fault)
 🧬 How toxins disrupt your genes, hormones, mitochondria—and your mind
 🔥 The signs your body is screaming for help (and what to do about it)
 🌱 Why personalized, root-cause healing is the future of women’s health
 ❤️‍🔥 And how to start reducing your toxic load without going crazy

This one is part truth bomb, part pep talk, and part action plan. 

Jaclyn’s mission is to help women understand their bodies, work with their genes, and stop suffering in silence.

You’ll walk away feeling seen, educated, and ready to advocate for your health like never before.

✨ Connect with Jaclyn and live a healthier life
📱 Follow her on Instagram: @jaclyndownsnutrition
📚 Grab her book “At Risk? Avoid Diabetes by Recognizing Early Risk – A Genetic and Holistic Approach” here: https://a.co/d/0MOfglo

Thank you for spending time with me today on the Thrive After 45™ podcast! If this episode spoke to you, be sure to hit that follow button so you never miss one.

And if you loved it, I’d be so grateful if you left a review - it helps more amazing women like you find this show!

Your journey doesn’t stop here - let’s keep the conversation going! Connect with me at denisedrinkwalter.com, and follow @thethriveafter45podcast for daily insp, tips, and support.

Remember, midlife isn’t the end - it’s just the beginning of a new, exciting chapter! Keep thriving, keep shining, and I’ll see you next time!

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to Thrive After 45, the podcast where we redefine the significance of you for you by you because of you. My name is Denise Drink Walter, a midlife renewal coach, and I am here to help women embrace their power purpose. Potential, and this show is your space to explore what's possible when you prioritize you Through inspiring conversations, expert insights, and real stories, we'll uncover how to navigate transition. Rediscover joy and thrive inside and out. It is time to let go of guilt and fully embrace the life waiting for you. This is the Thrive After 45 podcast, and it is your time to thrive for you by you because of you. It is such an honor and a privilege to introduce and welcome Jacqueline Downs to the Thrive after 45 podcasts today. Jacqueline. Is a functional genomics analyst with over 25 years in the field of nutrition and 12 years of experience in the cutting edge world of genomics with a master's degree in holistic nutrition and a background in birth work. As a doula and a midwife's assistant, she brings a powerful combination of science. Intuition and deep care to her work. She's the author of the book, enhancing Fertility Through Functional Medicine using Nutrigenomics. To solve unexplained fertility, infertility, and she's helped countless individuals get to the root of frustrating health issues by using the wisdom hidden in their genes. If you're a woman in midlife experiencing shifts in your body, whether it's hormone changes, fatigue, brain fog, or just not feeling like yourself, this conversation is for you. Jacqueline is here to help us understand how functional genomics can offer answers, clarity, and hope for healing during this powerful chapter of our lives. Wonderful to have you here today, Jacqueline. Thank you so much for that wonderful introduction and I'm really happy to be here. Thanks for having me. We have to start at the beginning when we talk about functional genomics, what are we talking about? I. Functional genomics are genes that you can actually do something about. So these aren't like true genetic mutations like for muscular dystrophy. These are part of our epigenetics, our epigenome, which means we're born with the DNA that we're going to have, and that never ever changes as far as we are aware. But there are things that can activate and deactivate or turn your genes on and off. And so those are the things like your um, exposures, your nutrient deficiencies, toxins, you're exposed to. All of those things affect the functioning of our genes. It makes perfect sense. Makes perfect sense, and what we have within our control when we have the knowledge and the capacity to understand what we can do to support healthier bodies, healthier minds, healthier beings. Right. Yes, exactly. And that is the reason why one specific dietary protocol worked great for your neighbor, but was a train wreck for you. Or why this form of, you know, magnesium or whatever, B vitamins would, um, be more well suited to you versus somebody else. And so you can really get into the, the, the nuances and the details and, and work with your health. With precision, when you know your genetics, you can really stop wasting time and money. Mm. And in the case of fertility, a lot of heartache if you just streamline with knowing what your genes have to say. Right. And so it could you share with us what you do in order to understand the breadth and depth of an individual's genomics. Yes. So unlike all of the other genetic interpretation companies out there that basically just have a list of a couple dozen genes, sometimes less, sometimes more. And do you have it, do you not? You know, do you have one copy or two copies? And then they just fill in like a canned response for what you put, if you have one copy or two copies or no copies. And so for me. I, it starts with a very, very meticulously detailed intake form, a health history form. So I am asking about sleep poop periods, dental history, skin issues. If you know toenail fungus, um, mold exposures. Stress levels. If you've ever had shift work, like all kinds of stuff of water you're drinking, so I can really understand what the root of your symptoms are and also where you want to go. So those other genetic interpretation companies, they don't take into account diets that worked for you, diets that didn't. Your level of physical activity, your level of job stress. I take all that into consideration and then I use. Your genetics and if you have lab work, I, it pairs really, really nicely with lab work because you can see a predisposition for something in your genes, but maybe it's not expressing because here's a really, really important clinical pearl. Just because you have a genetic variant does not mean that it's expressing, but there is the potential for it to express. And so pairing genetics with functional lab testing and even conventional lab testing can really, really. Help to understand. If something is expressing, and if so, to what degree? And then also, okay, maybe it's not, but good to know as I get older, if I start experiencing certain symptoms, then we'll know that this might be starting to express. So, uh, it's, it's very, very detailed. And so I go through somebody's genome and I look at hundreds of thousands of SNPs. This is. Uh, exponentially more than every other company that I've seen out there, so that the more points of data you have, the, the better, more comprehensive understanding you can get of what could be going on with a person. And so, yeah, I pair the intake form with the genetics and then I go and I provide a typed document of all of the genetic variants that I'm seeing that are relevant to your situation. Okay. And, and those documents are typically 30 to 60 pages. Mm-hmm. And then I make a video of me going through your genome in the software that I use, going through your typed document. And then you have that video and you can share it with any practitioner you want. And then I also do make a lot of actionable recommendations be, be, I'm just gonna provide this. Overwhelming analysis paralysis, you know, anxiety inducing report without actionable steps. So I, here's some supplements you can take. I even create a full script. Um. Portal for them so that they can see what products I'm recommending. Because if I'm saying, oh, we should just take, they're gonna be like, well, what form? How much? What company do you like? Yeah. So you don't have to buy your supplements from me. But that way you can see the products that I recommend. And you can get something similar to it or you can just get those. Um, and then I also recommend a lot of lifestyle, actionable, low hanging, good stuff, you know? And some of the companies, I've had somebody come to me with a genetic report and I'm like, okay, so what were like the big five takeaways that you got? She's like, well, I need to make sure that I'm exercising most days of the week. I should eat organic and, you know, medi diet. And I was like, you didn't need somebody to read, to tell you that that is, they're, they're, they were just ripping you off. So, so there's things that everybody can do to be healthy, of course. And then there's things that your genes will specify to get more targeted and streamlined. And because of this, in my book, I do have a chapter on things that every human being can do. To promote health, right? Regardless of what your genetic blueprint shows. These are things like, basically I looked at how our bodies evolved, you know, with right, with the earth, out in the sun, feet on the ground, moving your bodies, having community. You know, and, and eating whole foods, like those are just the foundational, non-negotiable really. Sure. But if for some reason maybe you have shift work and you can't Yeah, then, then there's things that I can recommend to help sort of compensate for that, that, um, what's the word I'm looking for? Just, um. Imbalance. I guess I was sure I was gonna say weakness or, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Amazing. So what I'm hearing you say is there's a lot that we can do that is foundational, which could almost, could almost be some common sense responses to health in in general terms. But it sounds to me like you are. An incredible detective who digs so deep and wide about specificity of an individual in ways that. Unless you do it, it's gonna be impossible to access because of how 30 to 60 page document I'm sitting here going, holy smokes. And then when you said you do a video, I'm like, brilliant. Brilliant on you. Because there's a lot of us in the world when we want to find this information out. Do have the desire to. Consume your report. However, we don't want it to be so overwhelming that people don't move, don't make the changes, right? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So at the beginning of my reports, after doing the whole report, I. That's when I do my final overall takeaway. Sure. So that way I can summarize it. So right there in the beginning, these are the top three things that I'm seeing. You know, support your blood sugar support, you know, these two detox or whatever. And, and that way when we get to that section and it'll, you know, they'll know to that this is an important Yes. Part of the report and, and how it interplays with what is going on with them currently. Now do you have people who. Do this work with you, and then do they report back to give you how it's going? Yes. How does that work? Yeah. Yes. Yes. So I have clients that, um, only do the genetics and I've never met them. And then I have clients that don't do genetics, and they just do the one to one-to-one consultations with me. And then I have clients that do both. Both. And so even if you start it out just getting your genetic interpretation and you want to dig deeper. Um, or you, you know, you want to figure some more stuff out or you have questions. Mm-hmm. You can schedule a one-to-one with me and, and that's when I can provide the longer term support. Um, right. Uh, so, but yes, I mean, even with people that I've never met, if you wanna look on my website right at the top, I have. Currently 23 5 star and only five star reviews. And, and people aren't just leaving like one sentence, like they're actually like, yeah, this is how Jacqueline helped me. This is what I thought of her report. And so from the feedback I've gotten, it really has provided a lot of value and a lot of insight and clarity for people. Right, right. You mentioned at the start how you're not a one size fits all, and I just spit it out. You either have it or you don't. Mm-hmm. Why does only focusing on a handful of genes not give us enough information to get a true idea? Of how our health is being shaped by genetic variants. So in my book, I state that only looking at a handful of genes is like thinking, you know what a puzzle looks like based on, ah, like three or five pieces. You don't know how, what is on the other side of those pieces. That's not, that you're not seeing, you're not seeing how much you're not seeing. Right? And so the more points of data we have. We can see the whole entire pathway of things. So rather than just looking at M-T-H-F-R or COMT, which are the two buzzwords right now in, in functional genomics and you know, functional medicine circles and stuff, people blame. So much on, Ugh, I can't detox because I have M-T-H-F-R, or, oh, I had miscarriages because I have M-T-H-F-R-M-T-H-F-R does not stand alone. There are so many genes upstream and downstream and left right back forth of M-T-H-F-R and also gut health. You could be having all of the activated B vitamins that you want, but if your gut is not absorbing them or you're super stressed out, you still might not be getting enough to the cells. So it's really, uh, more comprehensive than just, do I have it or not? And this is the, the, the smoking gun of all my problems. And so, because they are so interrelated, interconnected, and. One variant can affect the functioning of another one. So sometimes I have a, um, I have like a beginner's guide or an introduction to Nutrigenomics and I talk about this. It's like a 40 minute slideshow. And so sometimes you can have one genetic variant, but may that speeds up something. But then maybe downstream you have another genetic variant that metabolizes that, that sped up. So those two actually like compensate for each other, right? But on the flip side, you could have. Um, something that is like a slow production, but a sped up metabolite metabolism. And then you're really, really going to have, um, a problem there because you're not making enough of it, and then your body's trying to clear it too quickly. And so that's, that's what your genes can tell you. And then that's how you know how you can compensate for them, because every gene makes an enzyme. So the MTFR gene makes the M-T-H-F-R enzyme, but enzymes require certain nutritional co-factors in order to work work. Mm-hmm. And so if those are like the spark plugs or certain engines require specific fuels, right? So these enzymes require specific nutritional fuels. And so if we're deficient in those. Even if we don't have a genetic variant, it's going to work as if we did have a variant there. So that's why we need to do a way more comprehensive intake and a really deep dive into the genes to see, um, what could be affecting what. So as you're speaking, something is coming forward for me and as our listeners, um, primarily are women in midlife years. And so, um, menopause, perimenopause, life changes are starting to happen. And as people are listening, I'm, I'm curious to, to know whether or not you have supported a fair number of women going through life transitions. Do. Is that something that you can gleam really specific responses to? Because there's so much out there and there's so much misinformation, and yet people are like, but I need something now. I don't know how to get through these hot flashes. I don't know how to survive the mood changes. I don't know, like, is that something that you could speak to as a general piece and give us some opportunities to, to perhaps reach out and say. I watch you in my corner, how do I connect? Yes, so. I'd say a large percentage of my clientele are women in, in that phase, and Sure, not, I'd say about 50% of my clientele are fertility related. Yeah. So just because I have this fertility book and I, you know, my previous career was in birth work, right. The, the genetics. Piece of the health really. I mean, I have met 60-year-old men with gout. I have children with autism. I have, you know, the whole spectrum of people. And so, but a lot of them are women because women want to empower themselves. They're tired of being gaslit. They're tired of brain fog. They're tired of feeling like crap. They're tired of this hormonal rollercoaster. And so, especially in the perimenopausal and menopausal phases of life, the liver. Plays a huge part in metabolizing hormones and, and, and clearing toxins that are basically, they throw wrenches in your metabolic pathways and for your hormone metabolism. So that's why my foundational package focuses on detoxification related genes and antioxidant related genes, because if you don't have that, then all of the other things are gonna be haywire as well. Hmm. So really it's. It's seeing where your genetic predispositions and weaknesses are in your detoxification pathways, coupled with things that you are exposed to. So this woman, for instance, right? She had, we did some functional testing and she had an insanely high level of BPA. Her urine and she's like, well, I ha I don't use Tupperware. I don't microwave plastic, I don't use plastic water bottles. Like, you know, I don't know where this is coming from. Yeah. And so when we were talking further, she bought, she, we were talking this subjective coffee and caffeine came up and she said that she bought this cold brew that was. Packaged in a, a plastic bag and it was inside of a box and you know that they're not cooling that cold brew down when they're putting it in that soft plastic bag. And so that was the big culprit right there. And so it really is, like you said, detective work and really having somebody learn about you. Yeah. And, and. To really help you find the answers, so I love that. Yes, those are the kind of things that can cause worse symptoms in first off, your reproductive years and perimenopause and menopause because the happier and cleaner and more efficient that the liver is working. The, the more it will be able to deal with your hormones, because the toxins come in and the body says, well, our body makes hormones. We know they're safe, so let's deal, let's put them on the back burner and let's deal with these foreign substances. And then those just are, like I said, throwing wrenches in your, in your systems and pathways and your cells. And so then your hormones get backed up because the body's overwhelmed with trying to manage, uh, crisis management and Right. Regular routine functioning. Wow. Wow. How empowering. Oh my gosh. I love what you just shared because that shows the intensity with which you, um, what am I calling it? Like narrow focus, your laser focus with each client and you found out it was the iced coffee or whatever that she like. No, I can't imagine. Uncovering such a thing without your help, right? Yeah. Yes, yes, absolutely. And I, I made the mistake of saying the cold brew cold brew is brewed cold. Um, but yes, it is still in a plastic bag. But yes. So this is, these are the types of things that can really help you get streamlined and get ultra personalized. Yeah, and, and you will see results because it's yours. Yes. Right? Yes. Especially when paired with functional lab testing. So that way, like, so the, the functional, so the genetics provide a framework for your prepositions, and the functional lab testing is a snapshot of what is currently happening metabolically in your body. And so that's why those pair so well together and you can really get a lot of answers. Beautiful. Beautiful. Is there anything that you would love to leave our listeners with as we wrap up our conversation today? A lot of people are moving towards a healthier, cleaner, upgraded lifestyle, but in this country, in this modern world that we live in, it's. I say in my book that survival of the fittest has now come to mean people that are proactively advocating for the health of themselves and their families and, and we can't just keep consuming what is being fed to us. Lib. Lib literally and figuratively. Yeah. But that can be so overwhelming when people open the door and realize like, oh my God, all my body care products, all my cleaning products, all the food in my pantry. So I say, this is better than that approach. You know, what can you do or what can you buy next time to upgrade the quality of that? So that way you're not completely overwhelmed and you create this, create this huge wagon to fall off of and you just, you know, say, oh, screw it all. So, you know, just, just go step by step and, and give yourself grace, because this is a very toxic world that we live in. Absolutely. Thank you so much for sharing not only on our show, but sharing your depth of knowledge and. Becoming such a detective, I can, um, only imagine. It just lights you up going through all of the work that you do to provide the in-depth reports and supports that you give your clients and people that reach out. So thank you so much for continuing this work. We are forever grateful In our show notes, we will have how to access Jacqueline and find her. We really appreciate your time and your energy today. It's wonderful to speak with you. Thank you so much for having me. Have a great day everyone. Take care of yourselves and make sure you go and do something for you by you because of you today. And I might add, check Jacqueline out. She is amazing. What a whiz. Take care everyone. Bye.